Islamabad, Sept. 14 -- Pakistan has maintained a reward of 7 million rupees on information leading to the arrest of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, who continues to be listed in the country's Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) "Red Book" of most-wanted terrorists, officials said on Monday.

Azhar, the founder and chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed, is wanted in India in connection with several terror cases, including the 2001 attack on Parliament. He was also among the 20 fugitives India sought from Pakistan, a demand it renewed after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which were carried out by 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists who killed 166 people.

Indian authorities have also linked Jaish-e-Mohammed to subsequent attacks, including the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack and the 2019 Pulwama bombing.

India has for years accused Pakistan of sheltering Azhar, while Pakistan has maintained that he fled to Afghanistan - a claim rejected by Afghanistan's Taliban government.

Azhar's name was included in the FIA's Red Book of most-wanted terrorists in 2021, according to information provided by the agency.

He has been identified in the list as the head of Jaish-e-Mohammad, with the date of entry given as December 31, 2021. The entry was made at the request of the Home Department, Punjab.

The list places Azhar at serial number 1480 and contains 1,804 names of most-wanted terrorists. The entry describes Azhar as healthy and heavily built and of normal medium height.

The details show that he is wanted in three cases: FIR-17/20 dated December 3, 2020, under sections 11-EE(4), 11-F(2), 11-W and 11-OOO of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, registered at the Counter Terrorism Department police station in Gujranwala; FIR-8/20 dated March 9, 2020, under section 11-EE(4) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, registered at the CTD police station in Multan; and FIR-4/21 dated March 29, 2021, under sections 11-H(3), 11-I, 11-J(2) and 11-N of the Anti-Terrorism Act, registered at the CTD police station in Lahore.

"The Federal/Provincial Govt. of Pakistan is offering a reward of up to Rs. 7,000,000/- for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Maulana Masood Azhar Maulana S/o Khuda Baksh," the entry says.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.