Warning from afar
It seems a bit bizarre that the US State Department should need to warn Pakistan about groups operating in its midst.
It seems a bit bizarre that the US State Department should need to warn Pakistan about groups operating in its midst. In a short, but to-the-point press release, Washington has expressed concern over the appearance of Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, at a rally in Karachi, once again affirming that the JuD is simply a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba, against which international sanctions exist. The US has also stated that Pakistan is a signatory to the UN Security Council Resolution 1267/1989, which calls for all countries to freeze assets of sanctioned groups and prevent sanctioned individuals from entering their territories.
The Jamaatud Dawa and the Difa-e-Pakistan Council — of which it forms a part — has immediately denied the US charges. But looked at from a more realistic angle, there can be no doubt that there is some truth in what was said in the US press release. Why Pakistan was unable to seek out this truth for itself and istead rely on overseas warnings regarding Hafiz Saeed is a matter of concern. The fact that we have failed to look into the threat posed by various militant groups raises many questions which need immediate answers.
It should not have been the responsibility of the US State Department to tell us that Hafiz Saeed presents a risk; or that the JuD, as a renamed version of a banned group, should never have been allowed to act in public with its leaders addressing large public rallies. The matter is really one of our commitment to tackle extremism. If that commitment does not exist, then we are in deep trouble. Pressure from abroad will never be enough to help us overcome terrorism, extremism and all the dangers that come with this evil. So far, there is no real evidence that we are willing to act to save ourselves and escape the web of militant thoughts we seem to have become tightly caught up in. As a result, the embarrassing reminders from far away pour in, leaving us looking less and less earnest about solving what is surely our problem.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 20th, 2012.
The Jamaatud Dawa and the Difa-e-Pakistan Council — of which it forms a part — has immediately denied the US charges. But looked at from a more realistic angle, there can be no doubt that there is some truth in what was said in the US press release. Why Pakistan was unable to seek out this truth for itself and istead rely on overseas warnings regarding Hafiz Saeed is a matter of concern. The fact that we have failed to look into the threat posed by various militant groups raises many questions which need immediate answers.
It should not have been the responsibility of the US State Department to tell us that Hafiz Saeed presents a risk; or that the JuD, as a renamed version of a banned group, should never have been allowed to act in public with its leaders addressing large public rallies. The matter is really one of our commitment to tackle extremism. If that commitment does not exist, then we are in deep trouble. Pressure from abroad will never be enough to help us overcome terrorism, extremism and all the dangers that come with this evil. So far, there is no real evidence that we are willing to act to save ourselves and escape the web of militant thoughts we seem to have become tightly caught up in. As a result, the embarrassing reminders from far away pour in, leaving us looking less and less earnest about solving what is surely our problem.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 20th, 2012.