Times Now Navbharat exposes Masood Azhar’s den | Economic Times

Times Now Navbharat, the Hindi news channel from Times Network, has launched with one of the biggest newsbreaks of the year, the unmasking of Pakistan’s patronage to Masood Azhar, a global terrorist and the chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed, a proscribed terror outfit. Azhar is one of India’s most-wanted terrorists and is the mastermind of major terror attacks in the country like the 2001 Parliament attack and the 2019 Pulwama blast that nearly took India and Pakistan to the brink of war. And while Pakistan has been trying to project an image that it no longer abets terror to escape economic sanctions — especially after Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was killed by US special forces at his hideout near its military headquarters in Abbottabad — the Hindi news channel has accessed undeniable visual evidence that confirms Pakistan’s deep state is still providing safe haven to terror masterminds.The news break is in line with the news channel’s philosophy to deliver cutting-edge and impactful content to viewers. The Jaish chief has two hideouts in Pakistan’s Bahawalpur, as per the story carried by the channel. One house is located next to the Osman-O-Ali Masjid. The National Orthopaedic & General Hospital is another major landmark. From this secret location, Masood conspires to wage terror against India. Pakistani soldiers have been stationed outside his house to secure their prized asset. With a mosque and hospital next to his house, an Osama-like operation becomes very difficult if not impossible. Further, the surroundings give Masood and his aides an opportunity to escape in case of a strike.The second house is also located in Bahawalpur, nearly four kilometres from the first. It also lies next to a masjid known as Jamia Mosque. The most interesting fact is that Bahawalpur bench of the Lahore High Court is just a kilometre away from Masood’s second home while the district collector’s office is just at a distance of three kilometres, the channel reported. The top offices of the district seem to be Masood’s neighbours. Again, there are uniformed Pakistani army personnel guarding the bungalow. So, a global terrorist resides in a posh locality as a state guest.The story exposes Pakistan’s nefarious designs to continue using terror as a state policy.India has submitted many dossiesr to Islamabad with hard evidence of terror activities being planned from its soil but to no avail. But after Times Now Navbharat’s news break, Pakistan’s claims of not harbouring terrorists have been laid bare, the channel said.In a statement on the launch of the channel, MK Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network, said, “We believe that news has the power to make an impact on our society and also help make it a better place to live in.”He added that the Times Network is not part of the ‘TRP race’ and that it works only for the welfare of the country and its people. Times Network has already been running the country’s leading English news channel Times Now for the past 16 years, raising relevant issues which have triggered change in both political arena and society at large. “We work tirelessly on such issues and news which are in public interest and also contribute to the welfare of the country and the society. This helps us get TRP organically,” Anand said.Times Now is a part of BCCL, which also publishes ET.