The Paths of NSA Ajit Doval and Masood Azhar Cross Again

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Written by Sudhi Ranjan Sen | Updated: January 14, 2016 

In 194, painstaking investigation and intelligence gathering by Ajit Doval and his team unearthed just how big Masood Azhar was in the terror infrastructure of Pakistan.

NEW DELHI: As the Pakistan establishment closes in on terror group Jaish-e- Mohammed and its founder Maulana Masood Azhar - who India believes planned both the Pathankot air base attack and the strike on the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan - one man would have reason to smile. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

In 1994 when Masood Azhar was accidentally caught in Srinagar, most agencies would disregard him as a small catch till Ajit Doval walked into the scene.

Azhar was 26 and was travelling on a false Portuguese passport, posing as a journalist who compiled a magazine for the Harkat-ul Mujahdeen.

Painstaking investigation and intelligence gathering by Ajit Doval and his team unearthed just how big Azhar was in the terror infrastructure of Pakistan. Also that he was sent by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI to get the groups Harkut-ul- Ansar and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen together to carry out spectacular terror attacks in the Kashmir Valley and other parts of India.

One of his team members then - Asif Ibrahim - continues to be with him. Now as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Terrorism.

Ajit Doval's team, which comprised Asif Ibrahim, who is the Prime Minister Special Envoy on Terrorism, and Avinash Mohananey, now Director General of Police of Sikkim, alerted New Delhi to initiate remedial action.

Indian Airlines' Delhi-bound IC-814 was hijacked after it took off from Katmandu in Nepal (AP photo)Years later, in December 1999, when Indian Airlines' Delhi-bound IC-814 was hijacked after it took off from Katmandu in Nepal, it was left to Ajit Doval and a few other officers to negotiate the release of the hostages.

Hours after the hijack, Mr Doval flew with then Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh to Kandahar in Afghanistan, taking with them with three terrorists whose release was demanded by the hijackers in exchange for the passengers and crew of the plane.

The three terrorists were Masood Azhar, Omar Shiekh - now under arrest in Pakistan for murdering journalist Daniel Pearl - and Mustaq Zargar.

Two years later, when Masood Azhar and Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Sayeed masterminded an attack on the Parliament of India, Mr Doval and his team played a crucial role in not only working out the plot but also the arrest of main accused Afzal Guru.

The December 2001 attack on Parliament forced India to mobilize troops at the border, allowing Pakistan to empty troops from western borders, which gave free passage to Osama Bin Laden and many other Al Qaida leaders into Pakistan.

This evening, Pakistani media reported that Masood Azhar and his close relatives had been taken into "protective custody" two days ago as Islamabad investigates the Pathankot attack.

The man leading India's charge against terrorists working out of Pakistan, is Ajit Doval.