Rhetorical gesture

As soon as the news of the arrest of dreaded Lashkar e Toiba ( LeT) and Jamaat ud Dawa ( JuD) leader, Hafiz Sayeed was broken, India reacted swiftly and rightly by describing the much-publicised arrest as cosmetic and more specifically for the consumption of the US where Prime Minister Imran Khan is to meet President Trump. Trump has gone on record particularly stating on Hafiz Saeed's so-called arrest describing him as the mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks of November 26, 2008. Imran Khan and his government hastened to complete their homework before the US visit so as to give the impression that Pakistan is doing enough to rein in terror.

However, such misconceptions are unlikely to augur well with the US and other countries who are seriously battling terror and putting pressure on Pakistan from refraining from extending support to homegrown terror groups mainly the LeT, its close affiliates and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) who have been complicit in unleashing terror in Kashmir and supporting these groups in terms of support by means of training, Kashmir-centric direction, and funding.

Meanwhile, it is in public domain that Pakistan is doing these arrest-related exercises under severe pressure of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). It is now cornered and is rendered almost a pariah in large part of the world. It is an uphill task on its part to erase the taint that easily. Whatever Prime Minister Imran Khan and his advisors have readied for the talks with the US side, accompanying the Prime Minister are two high profile military men. The army chief, Gen Bajwa and the head of the ISI, Faiz Hameed. Presence of such powerful members of the deep state in the PM's entourage is perhaps unprecedented. It shows that either the military doesn't trust its PM and wants to be present or they think they are more articulate than the PM to discuss the domestic terror scene, especially on Hafiz Sayeed and the LeT. It remains equally intriguing why the US agreed to accommodate these generals on the PM's trip. At the same time, it could be assumed that the ISI chief will try to convince the US side about alleged Indian role in interfering in the internal situation in Pakistan.

As LeT is being put on a tight leash, albeit for tactical reasons, mentors of terror outfits in collaboration with the state are believed to have drawn up a terror plan to now use the Al Badr in carrying out a proxy war in Kashmir so as not to lose focus or momentum in its ongoing terror campaign in Kashmir. Al Badr, founded in 1998, has come to notoriety, for its extremism and had its baby walks' training from Hizb-ul Mujahideen (HuM) under Salahuddin in its militant activities in Kashmir. Al Badr stands banned by the US administration. In all likelihood, ISI may use it now in Kashmir to wean way focus from Hafiz Saeed and LeT. Indian security forces, therefore, need to keep up pressure in neutralising terrorists as done now. ISI may try to show that terror in Kashmir is the handiwork of local terrorists.

LeT nexus with Al Badr is well-known. Equally well-known is the LeT connections with the Rohingyas of Myanmar. Sel- styled leader of Harkat ul Jehad Islam (Arakan), Abdul Quddus Al Barmi was spotted sharing the same platform with Hafiz Saeed, LeT supremo in Karachi sometime in 2012. LeT under express directions of Hafiz Saeed, was responsible for radicalising a large number of Rohingyas within Myanmar prior to August 17, 2017, when an onslaught on Rohingyas was launched leading to their flight to Bangladesh. LeT is also suspected of being in active collaboration with ISI, of creating All Rohingyas Salvation Army (ARSA) and arming it to the teeth to fight the Myanmar army. Knowledgable sources also allege that a serving Pakistani army major was directly supervising operations in favour of the Rohingyas.

Meanwhile, prominent Pakistan daily Dawn in its editorial on July 21 has categorically stated that PM Imran Khan's departure for the US is most timely coinciding with the arrest of Hafiz Saeed last week by Counter Terrorism police when he was travelling to Gujranwala from Lahore. It further says that Saeed's arrest could be perceived as little more than an opportunistic move calibrated to coincide with this significant state visit to the US. Similarly, raids on the madarsas, mosques, and schools run by JuD in the provinces of Baluchistan, Sindh and Punjab a few months ago ahead of the US programme looks a definite shift in Pakistan approach towards the terror outfits. This comes in the midst of the world watching very closely Pakistan's support to Jaish, JuD, etc. Such a tenor by a responsible newspaper like Dawn endorses India's impressions that Hafiz Saeed's arrest is cosmetic. In reality, it is.

As Imran set his foot on the US soil, there is a spate of demonstrations protesting against atrocities in Baluchistan and back home, 9 persons including some cops were killed in a suicide attack on July 21/22 in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Terror continues. Imran Khan and the military should, therefore, make genuine efforts to contain terrorists and terror instead of deceiving people by making token arrests merely for showcasing endeavours which lack sincerity and commitment. It will be interesting to see, how tough is Trump to Imran in his reprimand to tighten the terror outfits or he is happy on Imran's assurance in controlling Afghan Taliban before the pull-out of the Afghan troops. The role of the army and ISI chiefs accompanying the PM will be equally worth pursuing.

(The writer is a retired IPS officer, a security analyst and the former National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Mauritius. Views expressed are strictly personal)