If there is any country in the world that minces no words in sharing with the world community the lurking and prowling threat from the terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Lashkar-e- Toiba to peace and tranquillity especially in core regional area of the subcontinent, it is the United States. India, a victim of terror for nearly over three decades, has been raising the issue at every international platform, pinpointing its origin and where it got sustenance on perpetual basis. The country that exports and promotes terrorism – Pakistan: the powers that be there have virtually been found either collaborating with such elements under absolute pressure from within or rendered helpless to combat and contain it.
It appears that the Pakistani establishment wraps the entire gamut of sponsoring and promoting terror with the veil of mist and resorts to a tactical silence as to the emerging vicissitudes of not so far “addressing America’s concerns on terrorism in 2017”. The other day, the US categorically said that the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e- Toiba terror groups continue to pose a regional threat and that Pakistan is practically doing nothing about it. It is an admitted fact that because of the sustained efforts of the US, al-Qaida in Afghanistan as well as in Pakistan has been rendered with no sharper teeth and is in disarray but the fact remains that its residues and shreds as also its regional affiliates in the Indian sub- continent, continue to pose serious threat.
It is not for the first time, the US has come out with its cogent assessment of the threat perceptions and it is again not in any way any of its predictions, but based on its annual Country Reports on Terrorism for the year 2017 and other reports it has been receiving from various inputs and the pointed feedback on the ground which unraveled how these terror outfits continued to operate from remote locations in the region. These locations, it may be reiterated, have “historically” been exploited as safe havens. It is not that Pakistan is ignorant about what the US and especially the Trump administration has been bringing home to it including the “penalty” imposed in the form of a pause or suspension of Foreign Military Financing but practically Pakistan is undone to do anything about it knowing fully that the suspended funds were desperately needed by it looking to the worst ever economic conditions it has been facing.
With the change of guard in Pakistan , there seems hardly any change on the ground rather it is perfectly evident that it was the military of Pakistan holding de-jure position in taking critical decisions which included non interference in the agenda of terror it is ordained to pursue against India and intermittently keep targeting Afghanistan , again for the reason of that country forging closest links with India mainly for economic development and raising infrastructural support bases for its economy. The US has openly admitted in its report of 2017 that the LeT and the JeM were directed against India which is worth noting.
Haqqani Network and other terrorist groups that enjoyed safe havens in Pakistan are the core issues that the US wants Pakistan to address. It is reported that Pakistan has not restricted the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network from operating in Pakistan based safe havens and thus in the process, is threatening the US and Afghan forces in Afghanistan. The US has expressed serious concerns over it.
In order to get the financial aid from the US in fighting the breeding terror in their country, the Pakistani Governments have been cosmetically projecting being engaged in targeting terror safe havens in the federally administrated tribal areas, the impact of whatever nature was found nominal and “uneven”. Money laundering and other sources to raise funds are going on unhindered in Pakistan by these terror groups although Pakistan’s laws technically comply with international laws against such practices. Since Pakistan is now on the brink of total international isolation on this count coupled with its economy under tremendous impairment, it remains to be seen which way the wind blows there.
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