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Jaish leader defies ban, emerges in PoK
Defying government orders banning his entry, outlawed Jaish e-Mohammad leader Masood Azhar on Thursday reached Kotli town in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, a private television channel, Geo TV reported. However, local officials denied that the Jaish leader, blamed for masterminding the December 2001 attack on Indian parliament, had managed to enter PoK in connection with the birthday celebrations of Prophet Mohammed."Masood? Ain't seen him." The TV channel said Azhar, who was released by India in 1999 for release of passengers of the Indian airlines plane hijacked to Kandahar, appeared in Kotli much to the surprise of officials there. "Even if he is here, we didn't know he was coming" Pakistan government on Wednesday banned his entry into PoK and had ordered setting up of pickets to prevent Azhar from addressing a public rally in Kotli on Thursday. Jaish-e-Mohammad was banned by President Pervez Musharraf last year. Azhar who was kept in preventive detention was released a few months ago. He had criticsed the order barring him entering PoK as a means of "appeasing" India. Posted by: Steve 2003-05-15 |
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