DNA Edit: Pak window dressing - Islamabad is pretending to change its ways

If some optimists in India believe that the so-called Pakistani crackdown against its terror proxies has been prompted by pressure from New Delhi, then they better think twice.

The so-called ban on terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed or JeM, or whatever curbs that the neighbouring country wishes to impose on such outfits, has been prompted entirely by Western pressure.

Most crucially, Pakistan is under scrutiny from terror funding watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental organisation founded by the G-7 to combat money laundering. In 2001, it expanded its mandate to include terror financing.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Fawad Chaudhry told the media that his government had decided to take action against all terror outfits along with a ban on Jammat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) headed by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed.

It is instructive to remember, however, that Pakistan knows — and has played this game - better than most. While it is telling the world — or more like showing signs of having acquiesced to the global order about imposing curbs on homegrown terrorists — in reality, it is not above deploying a double cross.

It turns out that both the JuD and FIF are not on the list of banned organisations and have merely been put on the watch list. It has also not stopped Pakistan from firing across the LoC and launching drones over Indian territory.

Even if one was to believe optimistically that Pakistan has turned a new leaf, it would be naive to assume that one air strike is a guarantee against renewed terror attacks in the Kashmir Valley from across the border. Sure, Pakistan is no longer in the good books of the Americans after Osama bin Laden and its staunch Middle East allies now find India a good investment destination, but New Delhi cannot afford to let its guard down.