Pathankot attack: Interpol issues fresh Red Corner notice against Masood Azhar

Signalling a major development in the Pathankot case, the Interpol on Tuesday issued a fresh Red Corner notice against Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Abdul Rauf for their alleged involvement in the attack on the Indian Air Force Base.

According to NIA sources, JeM suspect Shahid Latif is the main handler in the Pathankot attack and that his location at the moment should probably be in Pakistan.

Latif was first arrested in 1994, convicted in 1995 and his jail term was over in 2010. After that he deported to Pakistan through the Atari Border.

Sources added that besides a notice on Masood and Rauf, the Interpol is also in the process of issuing a Red Corner notice against Latif and JeM suspect Shahid Latif.

Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf, Jan and Latif are being touted as the main culprits into the deadly attack on the Indian Air Force base.

Earlier, the NIA had also secured non-bailable arrest warrants against the four JeM terrorists.

The special court issued the arrest warrants after weighing the evidence presented by the NIA.

During the meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on April 18 in Moscow, India is likely to take up the issue of China blocking its call to ban Masood Azhar at the United Nations.

"India is in constant touch with China on the matter. The issue has already been taken up at high level. There cannot be two sets of rules for judging terrorists," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup earlier.

China stopped the UN sanctions committee from designating Masood Azhar as a terrorist, stating that the case did not meet requirements of the Security Council.

China maintains that designation of any individual as terrorist by the UN is a serious issue, and, therefore, there was a need for more evidence from India for better understanding to ban the JeM chief.