New Delhi: Under immense pressure to act against terror outfits, Pakistan on Tuesday said that they have taken Mufti Abdul Rauf, the brother of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, and 44 others in preventive detention.

The move by Pakistan is being dubbed an eyewash as in the past, Pakistan had taken several top terror chiefs under observation, but the terror organisations continued to grow and carry out attacks across borders.

India has been mounting pressure on Pakistan on various global fora, forcing Pakistan to act against terror groups operating from its soil and curb their financing.

“It was decided to speed up action against all proscribed organisations. In compliance, 44 under-observation members of proscribed organisations, including Mufti Abdul Rauf and Hammad Azhar, have been taken in preventive detention for investigation,” the Pakistan government said in a statement.

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“These actions will continue, as per the decisions taken in National Security Committee (NSC), while reviewing the National Action Plan,” the statement added.

The names of Rauf and Azhar were mentioned in a dossier that was shared by India with Pakistan last week.

On several occasions, under-pressure Pakistan has taken terror operators into preventive custody. Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed was put under house arrest, while 26/11 mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi was also in preventive custody, but India claims that this is not enough and Pakistan needs to take some real action against them.

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In order to expose Pakistan at the global platform for shielding terrorists, India has prepared a detailed report of 16 terror facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). 

Despite evidence furnished by India about the breeding of terrorists on Pakistani soil, hardly anything has been done so far. Pakistan continues to protect them, claiming that the evidence provided by India is not actionable.