• Wion
  • /South Asia
  • /Pakistan court issues arrest warrant against JeM chief Masood Azhar

Pakistan court issues arrest warrant against JeM chief Masood Azhar

Pakistan court issues arrest warrant against JeM chief Masood Azhar

Moulana Masood Azhar.

An anti-terrorism court has issued an arrest warrant against terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar on terror financing charges on Thursday in Pakistan.

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Gujranwala announced the order while hearing a terror-financing case instituted by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police against some JeM members.

Watch |

Add WION as a Preferred Source

"ATC Gujranwala judge Natasha Naseem Supra issued an arrest warrant for Masood Azhar and directed the CTD to arrest him and present him in the court. The CTD told the judge the JeM chief was involved in terror financing and selling jihadi literature," an official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

It is believed that Azhar is hiding in a "safe place" in his hometown Bahawalpur.

After the Pulwama blast in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 40 Indian security personnel in February 2019, Pakistan's Punjab province police arrested six members of JeM in connection to terror financing.

JeM had claimed responsibility of the Pulwama attack.

CTD said that the six JeM members were arrested in a raid at a safe house and recovered hundreds of thousands of rupees.

"The suspects were collecting funds to finance activities of JeM. The chargesheet against them has been submitted to the Anti-Terrorism Court Gujranwala and they are being interrogated, said CTD.

Azhar was declared a "global terrorist" in May 2019 by the United Nations after China lifted its reservations related to the issue.