JeM Chief Masood Azhar Added to Pakistan’s Most-Wanted List with Increased Reward
What Happened
Masood Azhar, chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), has been listed as a fugitive in Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Red Book of most-wanted terrorists. The FIA raised the reward for information leading to his arrest from PKR 50 lakh to PKR 70 lakh. The move comes ahead of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary meeting in October, when Pakistan's efforts to combat terror financing are expected to face scrutiny.
Key Takeaways
The announcement is being viewed as an attempt by Pakistan to demonstrate action against terrorism before the upcoming FATF review. However, questions remain over the effectiveness of the move, as Pakistan has long maintained that Masood Azhar is not on its soil.