Twitter
Advertisement

Pak army leaves crackdown to police

Will the crackdown on the Jamaat-ud-Daawa, (JuD) which has been operating with impunity from Pakistan, be carried through to its logical end?

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

NEW DELHI: Will the crackdown on the Jamaat-ud-Daawa, (JuD) which has been operating with impunity from Pakistan, be carried through to its logical end? That is the question bothering officials in New Delhi.

Now that Islamabad has initiated action, India and the rest of the world want it to be carried forward. “The sincerity of the Pakistani government in taking action against terror groups must be on display,” said a senior official, who did not wish to be identified.

So far, all the action against the Jamaat has been carried out not by the army but by the police in Punjab and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. To Indian officials, that in itself tells the tale of the links between the terror outfits and the armed forces.

The problem for the Pakistan government is how far the army, which had built up and used outfits like the Lashkar-e-Taiba, will allow the civilians to crack down on them.

For the moment, the army is looking the other way, but analysts say if the raids continue, the military may step in.

India wants the individuals placed on the proscribed list by the UN security council to be prosecuted and put behind bars.

External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee made it clear during the terror debate in Parliament that mere house arrest was not enough. The logical next step is to slap cases on these leaders, try and convict them, and put them behind bars.

But analysts fear that once the cases come to the courts, the verdict may go against the government. Even in the past, people like Maulana Masood Azhar, arrested after the 2001 attack on Parliament, were let off by the courts.  

Many members of the lower judiciary and even some in the higher courts believe in the jihadi ideology or are close to the military establishment.

The “terror infrastructure” that India keeps referring to includes the camps where the Lashkar cadres are trained and housed. New Delhi wants Pakistan to smash all these camps. But it is not known if the process has begun.

Another important demand is the freezing of bank accounts of all these individuals and ‘charitable’ organisations, through which money is funnelled to finance terror strikes.

The handing over of some of those wanted by India will be the icing on the cake to show that Pakistan is sincere about cleaning up the terror network. High on the list is Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attack. But Pakistan has made it clear that none of its citizens will be handed over.

Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon, wanted by India for the 1993 serial bomb blasts, are Indian citizens and can be handed over. But, so far, there is no indication of that happening either, with Pakistan denying that they live there.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement