Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, accompanied by his brother Abdul Rauf Azhar and Maulana Ammar, was in Kandahar in the third week of August, specifically from August 19 to 19, after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, a reports suggested.
The JeM leaders reportedly met the Taliban to seek their support in fomenting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
“From 17 to 19 August, the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Maulana Masood Azhar, accompanied by his brother Abdul Rauf Azhar and Maulana Ammar, was in Kandahar, busy coordinating with Taliban leaders, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in order to establish an operational set-up. During the meetings, Masood Azhar argued that instead of getting involved in achieving political targets in Pakistan and/or Afghanistan, it should continue to focus on ‘India-centric’ operations, and sought Taliban’s assistance to facilitate JeM’s operations in Kashmir once the Taliban regime is fully established in Afghanistan", a report citing local sources said.
Earlier, Masood Azhar had expressed happiness over the Taliban's "victory" after they captured Kabul on August 15.
A message is also being circulated among JeM functionaries at its markaz (headquarters) at Bahawalpur in Pakistan greeting each other on the victory of the Taliban, the report stated.
Jaish-e-Mohammed has been active in carrying out terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir since it was founded by Masood Azhar since his release in 1999.
Masood Azhar was released from an Indian jail in exchange for the safety of passengers in the Indian Airlines flight IC 814, which had been hijacked by Pakistani terrorists.
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