'Gimmicks': India on Pak's Masood Azhar bounty

India has labeled Pakistan's recent offer of a seven million rupee bounty on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a mere gimmick. The External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, remarked during a media briefing that such hollow promises are a common occurrence from Pakistan. He emphasized that a state sponsor of terrorism should not make such empty announcements, and instead, it is crucial for Islamabad to take decisive action against terrorism.

India accuses Pakistan of providing shelter to Azhar, a claim Islamabad denies, asserting that the JeM founder has been operating from Afghanistan. However, Afghanistan's Taliban government has refuted these claims. The latest bounty announcement from Pakistan comes amid increased scrutiny of the country's anti-terrorism efforts, with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) set to review Pakistan's progress at its upcoming plenary.

Pakistan was previously placed on the FATF grey list due to its shortcomings in combating terrorism and terrorist financing. To be removed from the grey list, Pakistan had to take several measures, including banning terrorist organizations and prosecuting their leaders. Azhar was convicted in absentia in Pakistan and designated as a UN Security Council global terrorist in 2019.

Despite exiting the FATF grey list in 2022, India asserts that Pakistan needs to demonstrate tangible anti-terrorism measures, rather than making empty announcements about wanted terrorists.