If history is any guide, Laskahr-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Saeed and his cadre will dodge the charges and continue to provide support to a wide range of terrorist groups, including al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban.
If the past is any guide, the efforts are merely eyewash to placate Western governments in the wake of major terror attacks emanating from Pakistani soil. Pakistan has claimed it has shut down JuD offices and detained its top leaders in the past, only to allow the offices to reopen and the leaders free months later.
For years, Pakistani officials and military commanders have denied the existence of terrorist groups operating on Pakistani soil, and concurrently claimed that they are taking action against the same non-existent terrorist groups.
Khan’s claim that “our [Pakistani] soil is not used for carrying out terrorist attacks in other countries” is remarkably similar, if not identical to the Afghan Taliban’s false assurances that it won’t allow its territory to be used by terror groups.
According to a new report by the State Department, the Afghan Taliban and its Haqqani Network are still “operating in Pakistan-based safe havens and threatening U.S. and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.” Pakistan has assisted the US in counterterrorism operations against al Qaeda. However, by refusing to move against the Taliban, including the Haqqanis, Pakistan is harboring al Qaeda’s most important allies in the region.
The US Treasury and State Departments designated three members of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba as terrorists today. One of them was captured in Iraq in 2004 and held for a decade before he was transferred to Pakistan and released. Another has raised funds to send to Syria.
The designations are the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to pressure Pakistan to tackle terrorist groups that openly operate inside the country with the approval and support of both the military and government.
General Bajwa and Pakistani officials can pontificate all they like about how their country has eliminated terrorism and no longer permit terrorists to use its soil to attack another country. A look at the facts tells another story, and that is one of Pakistani duplicity.
“Pakistan’s resolve, actions and successes in the fight against terrorism, terrorist violence and terrorists is unmatched in the world,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the day after Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Saeed was freed from house arrest.
Pakistan’s denial of harboring terrorist groups that conduct attacks outside of its borders falls flat on its face when looking at Lashkar-e-Taiba, which not only supports al Qaeda and the Taliban, but has executed numerous attacks inside of Pakistan’s neighbor and enemy, India, as well as in Afghanistan.
The brief designation omitted Hizbul Mujahideen’s support for al Qaeda in the past, as well as its relations with other jihadist groups in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba. Hizbul Mujahideen’s emir was officially listed as a global terrorist in June 2017.
Thomas Joscelyn’s testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee’s Task Force on Denying Terrorists Entry into the United States on what happens to the Islamic State after it loses its territory in Iraq and Syria.
While denouncing the designation of Syed Salahuddin, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that “Pakistan has a demonstrated and longstanding commitment of combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”
State’s designation focused on Syed Salahuddin’s activities in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. But Salahaddin his direct ties to Paksitan’s military and intelligence services, and supports jihad in Afghanistan and India.
Testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee Counterterrorism and Intelligence, on the future of counterterrorism and addressing the evolving threat to domestic security.
Hafiz Saeed, who runs a state within the Pakistani state that is akin to Lebanese Hezbollah, has been placed in protective custody in the past, only to be freed.
The designations of Al-Muhammadia Students and LeT leaders Muhammad Sarwar and Shahid Mahmood highlight LeT’s role in international terrorism and its adeptness in using front organizations to skirt international sanctions.
Fifteen years after 9/11, Al Qaeda remains a threat to the West despite not carrying out a large-scale attack in years. The group is waging insurgencies in several countries and is far larger than it was on 9/11.
Bill Roggio testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, as well as the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. The hearing is titled, “Pakistan: Friend or Foe in the Fight Against Terrorism?”
The US government continues to provide nearly $800 million in financial aid despite Pakistan’s historical and continuing support for jihadist groups that are actively fighting US troops in Afghanistan and plotting terrorist attacks across the globe.
Masood Azhar, the Jaish-e-Mohammed emir, has been placed under house arrest and in protective custody at least three other times in the past.
The assault on the airbase is thought to have been executed by Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based jihadist group with close ties to al Qaeda. Jihadists reportedly said they were going to avenge a Jaish-e-Mohammed operative who was executed for his role in the 2001 assault on India’s Parliament.
Terrorists struck several locations throughout the city of Paris this evening. Initial reports say more than 150 people were killed. The coordinated assaults are similar to the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, which paralyzed an entire city.
The leader of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent says that attacks by al Qaeda’s branches against supposed “blasphemers” were ordered by al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri. He claims that several murders in Bangladesh and Pakistan were part of this campaign, which also includes the Charlie Hebdo massacre earlier this year.
The so-called “charitable organization,” which is based in Pakistan and Afghanistan, funds al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the Taliban. Sheikh Aminullah, a dual-hatted al Qaeda and Taliban leader who runs a “terrorist training center” in Pakistan, has been funded by Al Furqan.
Videos from the scene of today’s attack show the two gunmen engaging a French policeman on the streets of Paris. Two police officers are among 12 people killed in the terrorist attack on the headquarters of a satirical French magazine.
After a request from the antiterrorism squad in Mumbai, the government ordered that 32 websites be blocked for carrying Islamic State content that is “anti-India.” The Army estimated that some 160 terrorists are planning to infiltrate into Jammu & Kashmir.
Suspect in 2008 Mumbai Attacks Is Held in Pakistan on New Charge
Pakistani court orders conditional release of Mumbai attacks mastermind
An improvised explosive device filled with shrapnel detonated in downtown Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore), killing a woman and wounding three other people. Authorities stepped up security in Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, and Mumbai. India banned the Islamic State on Dec. 16, three days after arresting Mehdi Masoor Biswas in Bengaluru for running a prominent Islamic State website.