Muzaffarabad, May 14: Pakistan has barred Masood Azhar, leader of the outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammed blamed for masterminding the attack on Indian Parliament, from entering Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK), an official said today. Azhar, who was let free by India to secure the release of more than 100 passengers of an Indian Airlines plane hijacked to Kandahar in 1999, was scheduled to speak tomorrow at a religious gathering in Kotli, 200 kms south of Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK, senior security official Mohammed Nawaz Khan said. "We have banned his entry into (Pakistan-occupied) Kashmir," he said. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf outlawed the Jaish-e Mohammed, after the December 13, 2001 attack on India's Parliament, which killed 14 people. New Delhi accused Pakistani intelligence agents of sponsoring the attack and blamed it on two Pakistan-based militant groups JeM and Lashkar-e-Toiba. Pakistan denied the charge.
Bureau Report