Riyadh: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, while addressing an international forum in Riyadh on Wednesday, May 29, levelled serious accusations against Pakistan, citing visual and documentary evidence that allegedly links the country’s military leadership to proscribed terrorist elements.
The Hyderabad MP, who is part of a high-level Indian delegation led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Baijayant Panda, highlighted Pakistan’s alleged duplicity in combating terrorism, urging that it be reinstated on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.
Owaisi's ‘Visual Evidence’ of Terror Links
Owaisi displayed a photograph that purportedly showed Pakistani Army Chief General Asim Munir sitting next to Muhammad Ahsan, also known as Ehsan Muhammad, who has been designated a terrorist by the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
According to OFAC records, Ahsan is affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba and has been sanctioned under Executive Orders 13224 and 13886 for his role in terror financing.
Owaisi said, “When this person (Asim Munir) was made a Field Marshal in Pakistan, a US-designated terrorist called Mohammad Ehsan was sitting right beside the Field Marshal. There are photographs of him shaking hands with this field marshal. There is clear evidence of Pakistan's involvement."
"These terror groups are prospering over there, they are being trained over there, and the whole task is to destabilise India to create more Hindu Muslim riots in India," he added.
‘Only FATF Pressure Moved Pakistan on 26/11 Case’
Owaisi also referenced the long-delayed justice in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, alleging that Pakistan only acted against key suspects after being placed on the FATF grey list. “It was only after the grey listing that Pakistan admitted Sajid Mir was alive, after years of insisting he was dead,” he said, citing discussions from past FATF meetings.
According to Owaisi, while Mir was eventually convicted, it was for money laundering rather than terrorism. “The real masterminds of 26/11 are still free,” he added. He further condemned the Pakistani judiciary for what he called a “cosmetic attempt” to appear tough on terrorism without real consequences.
