Pakistan remains a “safe haven” for a host of regional terror groups, including the Afghan Taliban and its integral subgroup, the Al Qaeda linked Haqqani Network, according the the State Department’s newly released Country Reports on Terrorism 2019.
Pakistan is a state where those who push the bounds of what is acceptable to the military and Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, including jihadists, politicians, journalists, and activists, end up missing or are found murdered. Pakistan has weathered nearly two decades of international condemnation over Saeed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, yet he and his terrorist entities have not only survived, but thrived.
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.
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.
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.
Dawn calls out the Pakistani state for obscuring its purported ban of the Haqqani Network and Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
Haqqani Network and Jamaat-ud-Dawa: Banned or not?
Although numerous news outlets have reported that the Haqqani Network and Jamaat-ud-Dawa have been banned in Pakistan, no official announcement of the group’s status from the government or Ministry of Interior has been released.
Pakistani government tight-lipped about ban on Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Haqqani Network
Pakistani jihadist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba/Jamaatud Dawa now active in Gaza
Pakistani Islamists use floods to turn opinion against India
Al-Qaida’s growing closeness to LeT, JeM worries security establishment
Pakistan – Christians told, ‘protest again and you will die!’
Pakistan must arrest Hafiz Saeed to improve ties with India: Editorial
Lashkar front JuD into mobile gaming?
Attack on Schoolgirl in Pakistan Sparks Fears of Resurgent Taliban
Pakistan – Despite international ban, JuD asks for Ramazan donations online
The emir of the Al Badar Mujahideen said his group is waging jihad in both Afghanistan and Kashmir, and the leader of Hizbul Mujahideen said his group’s jihad is against the US and its allies.
Is LeT Turning Against Pakistan?
Hafiz Saeed still using Pakistan for ‘hate India’ campaign: SM Krishna
Pakistan dragging its feet on Mumbai mastermind: Clinton
Pakistan – Saeed asked to keep low profile, says aide
Pakistan – Give me more security, my life is in danger: Hafiz Saeed
Pakistan – DPC vows to stand firm against resumption of NATO supplies
Pakistan wants ‘concrete evidence’ on Mumbai suspect sought by US
Pakistanis burn US flags at bounty protests
Saeed’s sermon calling for jihad against the US was delivered the same day Pakistani officials claimed that Saeed was involved with “de-radicalization and rehabilitation of former jihadis” in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Hafiz Saeed calls for jihad against America
A Pakistani counterterrorism official wants you to believe the Lashkar-e-Taiba emir is on the side of the angels. Seriously.