FILE PHOTO: Maulana Azhar Masood, chief of the Pakistan-based Kashmiri group Jaish-e-Mohammad is pictured in this photo taken in August 2001. REUTERS/Mian Khursheed/File photo

PARIS (Reuters) - France has decided to freeze the assets of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) founder and leader Masood Azhar, the French government said on Friday.

A joint statement issued by the French interior ministry, finance ministry and foreign ministry added that France would discuss putting Masood Azhar on a European Union list of people suspected of being involved in terrorism.

Pakistan is under pressure from global powers to act against groups carrying out attacks in India, including Jaish-e-Mohammed, which claimed responsibility for a Feb. 14 attack in Kashmir that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police.