Pakistan shifts terrorist leaders to safe zones after India demands action: Sources

Pakistan is shifting terrorist leaders, including Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, to safe areas after India demanded of strong action against them following the Pulwama attack on February 14, sources said. The sources added that on February 17-18, Azhar was shifted from Rawalpindi to Kot Ghani near Bahawalpur in Pakistan.

To keep Azhar and other terrorists safe, Pakistan has provided three-layer security which is guarded by local police, special forces and the Pakistan Army. The outer periphery is being guarded by the local police, while the second and third layers have been taken care of by special forces and the Pakistan Army.

After the Pulwama attack, which was carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammed, India launched a major diplomatic pressure on Pakistan. The government slammed Pakistan for using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. India has also asked Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorists and terror groups operating from territories under its control.

On February 16 and 21, two meetings were held by terrorist leaders Syed Salahuddin and Masood Azhar in the vicinity of Islamabad. Both the meetings were held to discuss the future course of action after the Pulwama and to shift most of the launch pads immediately.

Inputs suggest that terrorist groups are shifting their launch pads from Neelam valley to Shawai Nala.

On Friday, the FATF expressed grave concern and condemned the Pulwama terror attack and said Pakistan has failed to demonstrate a proper understanding on funding of terrorist groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba.

In a statement, the Paris-headquartered Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said Pakistan should continue to work on implementing its action plan to address its strategic deficiencies, including by adequately demonstrating its proper understanding of the terror financing risks posed by the terrorist groups and conducting supervision on a risk-sensitive basis.

"The FATF notes with grave concern and condemns the violent terrorist attack last week that killed at least 40 Indian security forces in Pulwama in the State of Jammu and Kashmir," it said after the week-long FATF plenary held in Paris.

"Pakistan has revised its TF (terror financing) risk assessment. However, it does not demonstrate a proper understanding of the TF risks posed by Da'esh (ISIS), AL-Qaida, JuD (Jamat-ud-Dawa), FIF (Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation), LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba), JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammad), HQN (Haqqani Network) and persons affiliated with the Taliban," the statement said.

Forty CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on February 14 in one of the deadliest terrors strikes in Jammu and Kashmir when a suicide bomber blew up an explosive-laden vehicle near their bus in Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir.

The bus was part of a convoy of 78 vehicles carrying Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel from Jammu to Srinagar.

The Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attack.