Maulana Masood Azhar is wanted by Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Jaish-e-Mohammad's leader Maulana Masood Azhar. Screengrab Twitter

ISLAMABAD: In an uncommon step involving Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Foreign Office has officially addressed a letter to Kabul requesting that they find Maulana Masood Azhar, the founder of the militant religious group Jaish-e-Mohammed, and report him for arrest (JEM).

Pakistan has already outlawed the organisation.

According to a senior official with knowledge of the development who spoke on condition of anonymity to Geo News, "We have submitted a one-page letter to the Afghan Foreign Ministry urging them to find, report, and arrest Masood Azhar since we believe that he is hiding somewhere in Afghanistan."

When asked to comment on the situation, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office chose not to.

The one-page letter also identified Nangarhar and Kunar as the two provinces where the JEM leader is most likely to be hiding.

It is not yet known whether Azhar relocated to Afghanistan before or after the Taliban seized power in Kabul on August 15, 2021.

As a result of terrorism allegations, Pakistan has officially banned JEM since January 14, 2002. The change occurred under the administration of former president General Pervez Musharraf.

On May 10, 2019, the Interior Ministry banned two additional organisations, namely the Al-Rehmat Trust in Bahawalpur and the Al-Furqan Trust in Karachi, after 17 years of the JEM ban had been in effect.

Being a suspected terrorist, the former JEM leader Maulana Masood Azhar was still included in Schedule 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1999. He is accused of plotting numerous terrorist attacks in various locations.