Maulana Masood Azhar

Shaurya Karanbir Gurung

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 17

The Interpol has issued a fresh Red Corner Notice against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother, Abdul Rauf Asgar, for allegedly conspiring and planning the Pathankot air base attack.Sharing the development, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said a Red Corner Notice would also be issued against two more JeM members Kashif Jaan and Shahid Latif, the handlers of the terrorists who carried out the Pathankot attack. The NIA revealed that Latif was arrested in 1994 in a drugs case in Jammu. He was released in 2010 and sent back to Pakistan.A Red Corner Notice is meant to seek the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful action, as per the Interpol website. The legal basis for a Red Notice is an arrest warrant or court order issued by the judicial authorities in the country concerned. In April this year, a NIA special court had issued arrest warrants against Azhar, Asgar, Jaan and Latif.India, meanwhile, has sent a second Letter Rogatory (LR) — a letter of request issued by a court for evidences — to Pakistan. The second LR contains fresh evidences pointing to the involvement of the JeM and Pakistan in the Pathankot attack. “As part of the second LR, we have asked Pakistan to conduct searches at the residences of the four terrorists, their handlers and in connection with the credit card holder, who made payments for the JeM websites,” said an official.Pakistan has not responded to the first LR given to it by India. The NIA said it had approached the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to request Pakistan to respond to the LRs. India has also asked Pakistan to allow the NIA team to visit the country to conduct investigation, collect evidences and record statements in the Pathankot attack. The NIA said one of the crucial evidences part of the second LR was the interrogation of Mohammed Sadique, a resident of Sialkot, Pakistan. Sadique was arrested for an attack at an army camp at Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir on November 25 last year.“Sadique is part of the JeM. He was trained in Pakistan and he has listened to the lectures of Azhar and Asgar. He has identified the voice in an audio clip, which claims the JeM carried out the Pathankot attack, as that of Azhar’s brother, Asgar,” said a NIA officer. The same clip was shown to the JIT when they visited India in March this year and they did not raise objections, according to the NIA.

Pakistan fails to act

• The fresh Red Corner notice is being seen as a mere formality as Pakistan has not yet acted on the arrest warrants earlier issued against JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar
• An Interpol Red Corner Notice is already pending against Azhar for being allegedly involved in attacks onParliament and Jammu and Kashmir Assembly
• Similar warrant is pending against his brother Abdul Rauf Asgar in connection with the IC-814 hijacking case of 1999