India failed to prove link of Masood Azhar with Pulwama incident: FO

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has said that Indian dossier failed to prove link of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar with the Pulwama incident, and offered to continue to extend cooperation on the matter of provision of ‘actionable evidence’.

At his weekly news briefing here on Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal said that a 10-member investigative committee, constituted by Pakistan government, found no connecting dots that could prove link of any Pakistani including Masood Azhar to the Pulwama tragedy.

He said only three out of six parts of India’s 91-page dossier pertained to the Pulwama incident, while one-third names of the 90 persons mentioned were ‘mere repetition’.

The spokesperson said Pakistan in its reply to dossier has informed India that it is still ready to cooperate on provision of any actionable evidence that would sustain or clear the threshold of Pakistani courts.

On a resolution, tabled by the United States in the UN Security Council, seeking freezing of Masood Azhar’s bank accounts, the Spokesman said such listing is a purely technical issue for which the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee was the appropriate forum.

He regretted that the resolution was moved in UNSC at a time when the matter was under consideration by the 1267 Sanctions Committee and added that such efforts to circumvent the established machinery would only weaken the 1267 regime. He said Pakistan remains committed to fulfill its obligation under the UNSC’s 1267 regime.