Opinion Terror games
Hafiz Saeed walks free again, posing another question mark on Pakistan’s commitment to tackle extremism
At least for Philippines President Robert Duterte, who is living up to the title of ‘Trump of the East’ 
Hafiz Saeed, who was designated under the UN Security Council’s 1267 resolution, and further, carries a $10 million US bounty, was placed under house arrest at the end of January 2017
The release of Hafiz Saeed from house arrest is a scene that has replayed in Pakistan so many times that it is a wonder that it is taken seriously. This was the seventh time that Saeed, head of the terrorist Jamaat-ud-Dawa/Lashkar-e-Toiba, was arrested, and the sixth time he was released by the Lahore High Court. Notably, the court’s order for his release came a few days after the US Congress dropped the LeT from a provision in a bill linking financial aid to Pakistan with action by Islamabad against terrorist groups.
The provision now mentions only the Haqqani Network by name. Saeed, who was designated under the UN Security Council’s 1267 resolution, and further, carries a $10 million US bounty, was placed under house arrest at the end of January 2017. Khwaja Asif, then minister of defence, said he could “pose a serious threat to society”. The Pakistan Army said Saeed was detained in “national interest”. The house arrest came days after President Donald Trump’s inauguration. As Trump’s rhetoric against Pakistan grew shriller over the months, Saeed’s detention kept getting extended.
To much excitement and anticipation in India, Pakistan even placed JuD offshoot, Tehrik-e-Azadi Kashmir, on its list of proscribed organisations. In a departure from the usual practice of using the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance for Saeed’s arrest, his January arrest was under the provisions of Pakistan’s 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act. Four other members of the JuD/Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation were also placed under house arrest under this Act for a period of 90 days.
Back in 2009, too, to India’s great surprise, two FIRs were registered against Saeed under the ATA, but those cases were short-lived. The FIRs were dismissed by the high court as the JuD was not listed as a terrorist organisation, and the government was admonished for acting under pressure from India and the US. The organisation is still not proscribed, and though the Pakistani authorities had invoked the ATA again, they did nothing further to make a case against Saeed or his colleagues under the Act. It was no surprise that when the 90 days passed, the government sought further extensions under the Maintenance of Public Order. Two extensions of three months each were approved by the court’s review board. The writing was on the wall last month when the four others were let off.
It speaks volumes about Pakistan’s (non)seriousness on tackling terrorism that Saeed has been able to once again walk free. The timing is especially telling — India marks the ninth anniversary of the Mumbai attacks on Sunday. The trial of those arrested by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency, all members of LeT, remains pending. If Pakistan could fast track this case even now, something could be salvaged in relations between the two countries. Pakistan says it is the worst victim of terrorism, and indeed, on Friday, there was another suicide bombing in Peshawar. It only underlines that there is nothing to be gained by differentiating between “good” and “bad” terrorists.
Share
