Pune, Sept. 15 -- Defence expert Brigadier (Retd) Hemant Mahajan on Monday termed Pakistan's announcement of a PKR 70 lakh reward on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a "smokescreen" to escape scrutiny from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Reacting to Pakistan's decision, Mahajan said, "Pakistan has stated that Masood Azhar is a most wanted terrorist and has raised the bounty on him from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 70 lakh. How should we analyze this? I think the answer is quite simple: it is largely a smokescreen Pakistan is creating to escape the scrutiny of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)."

He said the FATF is scheduled to meet in October and Pakistan will face questions over steps taken to curb terrorism originating fr...