Twitter
Advertisement

Masood Azhar maybe declared proclaimed offender, tag to strengthen India's case

The JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack in its house journal al Qalam.

Latest News
article-main
File photo of Jaish-e-Mohammad Chief Maulana Masood Azhar
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad's (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar and two others, are all set to be declared 'proclaimed offenders' by the Mohali District and Sessions Court in Punjab next month for masterminding the January 2015 attack on the Pathankot air force base.

The judicial declaration, a second in Azhar's file, will act as 'evidence' in international jurisprudence to prove that terrorists from Pakistan carried out the attacks. This would strengthen India's case to get Azhar listed as a designated terrorist in the UN, senior National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials said.

The JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack in its house journal al Qalam.

The Mohali court started the process for pronouncing Azhar as a proclaimed offender last month, where the NIA has filed a charge sheet for the Pathankot attack. The court has also published notices in newspapers asking Azhar, Asghar and JeM commanders Kashif Jan, and Shahid Latif to appear in the court on March 9.

Under Section 82 of the CrPC, courts can declare a person against whom a warrant has been issued as a proclaimed offender if it believes that he or she has absconded or is evading warrant.

The NIA, in its charge sheet, has said that all four Pakistani nationals are currently absconding and hiding across the border. Pakistan is not expected to send them to face trial in an Indian court. The other four terrorists who carried out the attack were killed. The prosecution will now request the court to begin trial in their absence under Section 299 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and record statements of witnesses.

"Pronouncing Azhar and his associates proclaimed offenders will mean that whenever they are arrested in Indian territory or in a foreign country with which India has an extradition policy, he can be requested to be brought to trial. The declaration also carries more weight as it is a legal order, whereas the red-corner notice by the Interpol is a mere executive order,'' a senior NIA official told DNA.

In 2002, following the Parliament attack, Azhar and JeM commanders Ghazi Baba and Tariq Ahmed were declared proclaimed offenders by a special court in Delhi and convicted in absentia. The court held them guilty of conspiring to "capture the Parliament House and kill the Prime Minister and Home Minister and to take all MPs hostage.''

Azhar, who was briefly arrested then, was released by the Lahore High Court as it did not find sufficient grounds to keep him under house arrest.

This time, however, the NIA is confident that the tag of proclaimed offender will reinforce India's efforts to include the JeM chief in the UN list of designated terrorists. "The court order will become part of the dossier and presentation on Azhar at the UN. It will add pressure on the international community to act with urgency and bring him to justice,'' the official said.

China has vetoed attempts to include Azhar in the list and recently it vetoed a US-sponsored proposal to list him in the 1267 sanctions committee and asked India to provide 'solid evidence'.

In the absence of any live accused or co-conspirator, as in the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai, where Kasab's testimony was the clinching evidence to prove that the militants came from Pakistan, the NIA has relied heavily on documentary and digital evidence to prove the involvement of JeM handlers from Pakistan in the Pathankot attack.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement