Dec 17: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, while speaking to Dawn News channel’s 9 pm News Eye programme, says “important people that were required have been taken into custody. They are under detention”. Asked if these people include Azhar and whether he had been put under house arrest or was in custody, Qureshi replies, “yes, in custody”. He clarifies that he was speaking on the basis of information available with him.
Dec 17: State-run APP news agency puts out a report quoting Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at 10 pm, “Maulana Masood Azhar is wanted by the Government of Pakistan, but he is not in our custody and he is at large”.
Dec 18: A Pakistan Foreign Affairs Ministry press release, “in response to media queries”, says the Foreign Minister had clarified his remarks regarding Azhar’s whereabouts. “The minister said Azhar is wanted by the law enforcement authorities of Pakistan and is at large”.
Sources said these statements clearly indicate the inherent contradictions in the public pronouncements of the Pakistan Government, even as internationally-wanted terrorists are finding a safe haven in their territory.