Pathankot attack: Red corner notice to be issued against Masood Azhar

New Delhi: In a major development into the Pathankot attack, a red corner notice is set to be issued against Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar and three others after a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mohali issued arrest warrants against four suspects of the terror group. According to NIA sources, JeM suspects Kashif Jan and Shahid Latif were involved in the Pathankot attack and played an instrumental role as trainers in the terror outfit. Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf, Jan and Latif are being touted as the main culprits into the deadly attack on 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 warrant after weighing the evidence presented by the NIA. During the meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart on April 18 in Moscow, India is likely to take up the issue of China blocking its call to ban Jaish-e-Muhammad chief Masood Azhar at the United Nations. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, "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." 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 JeM chief.