When External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Sunday that Pakistan has been contradicting its statements, one of the key contradictions he was referring to was on Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar.

South Block sources said there have been at least eight public statements from Pakistan since December 9, including that of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Defence Minister Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar, which have been contradicting each other. This, according to sources, exposes that the Pakistan establishment was trying to shield Masood Azhar — who was let off in exchange for Indian hostages after the IC 814 hijacking in Kandahar — though he was proscribed by the UN Security Council’s anti-terror resolutions.

To understand the contradictions, consider the following sequence of statements:

•Dec 9: Pakistan media gives initial reports of Masood Azhar’s detention at his home in Bahawalpur.

•Dec 9: Bahawalpur police officer Azhar Hameed Khokhar tells Aaj TV that Masood Azhar’s movements had not been restricted.

•Dec 9: Defence Minister Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar tells CNN-IBN that Masood Azhar had been detained and Pakistan “might allow” Indian investigators to question him.

•Dec 10: Pak PM Yousuf Raza Gilani tells reporters “we are awaiting the latest reports about Maulana Masood Azhar; the other two are being investigated”. He did not confirm or deny Azhar’s detention.

•Dec 17: Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik, in an interview to Network 18, says the government had not detained Azhar as part of the ongoing clampdown on militant and terrorist groups. He even claims Azhar is not in Pakistan.

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