Qureshi's remark generates much amusement. Increasingly Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is becoming a big diplomatic headache for Imran Khan. Because while he is trying to portray a positive image of Pakistan in the global community, but inadvertently Qureshi is blurting out Islamabad's worst kept secrets. After India exposed Pakistan's F-16 lies, Islamabad tries to brazen it out, US seeks report A day after Qureshi said that Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan and "unwell", he has now mentioned that the government is in touch with the terrorist group Jaish-e- Mohammad. JeM has taken claim for the heinous Pulwama attack on 14th February, in which 40 CRPF men were killed. Another Pak lie: Lockheed Martin calls out Pak official's claim that company is suing India over shooting down F-16 Pakistan wants Imran Khan to be given Nobel prize In an interview to BBC on Friday night, Qureshi said the JeM leadership was contacted and they have not claimed responsibility for Pulwama. Imran Khan, please send Masood Azhar to AIIMS This lead to him being mocked on Twitter. Hey @ImranKhanPTI , your Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has become a talking dossier. Now ask him the addresses and send those Jihadi leaders. #Peace will automatically reach you and your nation. pic.twitter.com/7ZeRDcAyU2 — HowsTheJosh_HighSir (@HowzzDJosh) March 2, 2019 Mr Qureshi was so busy checking his accent for Aunty Beeb (BBC) - he lost track of what he was saying! Pakistam must act against terror now or face more global humiliation. https://t.co/dNTGSoKWh3 — Advaita Kala / अद्वैता काला (@AdvaitaKala) March 2, 2019 Pakistan's Foreign Minister,Shah Mahmood Qureshi, by mistake accepts on BBC News that their government is in contact with the leadership of terrorist group Jaish e Muhammad which had claimed the responsibility of #PulwamaTerrorAttack !!!!! !#WelcomeHomeAbhinandan #Abhinandan pic.twitter.com/pZFdj6IsdR — Desi Joker (@_dontbeserious) March 1, 2019 BBC interview (done earlier today) with with #Pakistan FM Qureshi, where he acknowledges Jaish-e-Mohammed leadership has been contacted by “people over here.” When asked who exactly—“people who are known to them.” The proper term might be “handlers”?https://t.co/eTaPHpVYQG — Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) March 1, 2019 Speaking on the escalation of India-Pak tensions, Qureshi said, "Pakistan wants peace, we want stability. We want to look forward. We have issues but we want to resolve these issues. How do we resolve these issues? By firing missiles at each other? No! By talking to each other. By sharing evidence." When countered by the interviewer that this crisis began after Pulwama attack for which the JeM claimed responsibility, Qureshi said there is confusion on that. "They have not claimed responsibility of that. There is some confusion on that," he said. When asked to clarify, he said. "The confusion is that the leadership had been contacted and they said no. They deny that. That's the confusion." When asked to elaborate as on who contacted the leadership of JeM, the Pak Foreign Minister said, "The people who are known to them. ""They claimed no responsibility. They deny them," he added. In another interview with US media outlet CNN, Qureshi had earlier admitted that Jaish-e-Mohammed chief<doc-sep>Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday said Islamabad desires better bilateral relations with New Delhi and wants to de-escalate tensions with the country’s eastern neighbour, Radio Pakistan reported. FM Qureshi made the statement during his meeting with Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood and added that “direct contact is necessary to reduce the tension prevailing between the two countries”. He further said that the two countries will hold discussion on March 14 in New Delhi. The high commissioner and the foreign minister also exchanged views on Pak-India relations during the meeting. Sohail Mahmood will depart for New Delhi after the meeting. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday thanked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for timely intervention amid simmering tensions between nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India. Briefing the Pak-China Economic Cooperation Conference, Qureshi appreciated the advice offered by Chinese leadership post-Pulwama. “China offered mediation and urged for dialogue,” he elaborated. Qureshi said the recent tension between Islamabad and New Delhi is reducing and Pakistan has decided to send back its High Commissioner to New Delhi after consultations. He said Pakistan has increased the diplomatic efforts and Prime Minister Imran Khan was fully committed to conducting country’s foreign policy in honour, dignity, national interest and as per the aspirations of the people of Pakistan. On deepening ties with the northeastern neighbour, the foreign minister said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) reflects collective desire to usher the region into an era of shared prosperity. Published in Daily Times, March 8th 2019.<doc-sep>New Delhi: Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday admitted that Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, who has masterminded several terror attacks in India, is in the country, but claimed that he was really unwell and not in a position to even leave his house. In an interview with the CNN, Qureshi said that for the Pakistani authorities to arrest Azhar, India would first have to hand over proof that is “acceptable in Pakistani courts.” Masood Azhar’s JeM has been behind the attack on the Parliament House in 2001, the Pathankot air force base attack of 2016, the terror strike on army camps in Jammu and Uri in 2016, and the latest suicide attack on CRPF in Pulwama, which escalated the tensions between the two nations. India had on Wednesday handed over a dossier to Pakistan on Jaish’s role in the Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed, detailing the terror camps operating in Pakistan and the route taken by terrorists from Balakot, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to Jammu and Kashmir to mount attacks. “If they (India) have good solid evidence, please sit and talk, please have dialogue and we will be reasonable,” he said. The Indian Air Force had on Tuesday carried out a “pre-emptive, non-military” strike on the JeM camp in Balakot, which was being run by Maulana Yusuf Azhar, the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar, after Pakistan failed to act against terrorists operating from its soil, the government said. In a significant shift of tone, Qureshi also said Pakistan will welcome any step that leads to de-escalation of tensions with India when asked about the designation of Azhar as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council. The global terrorist tag will subject the JeM chief to a global travel ban, asset freeze and an arms embargo. The US, the UK and France moved a fresh proposal in the UN Security Council to designate Azhar as a global terrorist, but China has remained non-commital on whether it would back the resolution, despite global pressure. This is the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist. All three previous bids were vetoed by China. The Security Council Sanctions Committee will have 10 working days to consider the fresh proposal submitted by the three members. China, a close ally of Pakistan, has consistently blocked moves first by India and later by the US, the UK and France to designate Azhar as a global terrorist by the 1267 Committee by putting technical holds.<doc-sep>
Azhar (With inputs from PTI) NEW DELHI: Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday said that Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar is in Pakistan and he will only be arrested if India provides evidence which is acceptable to courts.In an interview to CNN, Qureshi said that Masood Azhar is unwell and cannot even leave his house. "He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is very unwell. He is unwell to the extent that he cannot leave his house because he is very unwell," Qureshi told CNN while replying to question if Pakistan's government will go after the JeM chief Qureshi's remarks came amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan after the February 14 terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pulwama that left 40 CRPF personnel dead.India has handed over a dossier to Pakistan with "specific details of the JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan. "India also expressed regret at the denial by Pakistan's political and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control.When asked why Azhar not being arrested even after Pakistan admitting that JeM is a terrorist organisation and he is its chief, Qureshi said that Azhar will only be arrested if India give evidence, which is acceptable to the courts of Pakistan.On the question of India's accusations against Azhar, Qureshi said that a legal process needs to be followed for an action against Azhar.Qureshi also said that his country will not allow an organisation or an individual to use their soil against India. "We will be open to any steps that leads to de-escalation and if they have good solid evidence," he said. "Please sit and talk. Initiate a dialogue," he added.is the chief of JeM that claimed responsibility for the February 14 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. India has been repeatedly trying to list him as a "global terrorist" by the UN. However, China, an ally of Pakistan, has blocked India's efforts by using veto.