Pak takeover of JeM HQ

PAKISTAN can easily claim the world record for banning terrorist organisations. Ever since 9/11 it hurtled down the road of proscriptions and has rarely lifted its foot off the pedal. The problem is that the banned organisations do not remain cowed down for long. Their leading stars continue to rain down invectives on the Pakistan army’s enemy of the day, while public prosecutors fail to press home the charges, leading to courts repeatedly letting off the hook these terror-cum-charity outfits. Evidence suggests that the ban serves each time the purpose of getting the monkey off the army’s back. In the latest replay, Pakistan has banned two terror outfits led by Hafiz Saeed and its administration took over the Bahawalpur headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar.

Clearly, the problem is in implementation. First banned in 2002, Hafiz Saeed’s Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and JeM would have been decimated by now, had there been a determined effort by Pakistan. After the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, it again proscribed 16 terror outfits, including the two anti-India terror outfits. Saeed's principal gunslingers were jailed and it appeared, for once, that the centrist government of Asif Ali Zardari had got the measure of the radicals. But two dead public prosecutors later, the trial petered out. Even the US, which freely indulges in drone hunting of terrorists on Pakistani soil, was unable to get at Saeed despite a multi-million bounty.

But Pakistan is under the pump after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gave it a three-month deadline to sharpen the implementation of its anti-terror financing laws. The recent Saudi bailout may have been the last act of generosity by Pakistan’s all-weather friends. Its impending blacklisting by the FATF could deter foreign investors and hinder Pakistan’s access to international markets. The road ahead for Pakistan is already tough without the distraction of a large neighbour unveiling all available tools of coercion. As India determinedly tightens the political screws — it has gained access even to the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) where Pakistan till now had the field to itself — and leverages its geo-economic charm, PM Imran Khan may find himself bereft of viable options.