Pakistan made no progress to counter terrorism, remains safe haven for JeM, LeT: US Report

In a major revelation of Pakistan's intention and its dual policy on terrorism, a new US report said Islamabad has failed to take adequate steps to counter terrorism and prosecute terrorists. According to the analysis report published by the US Department of State, several UN- and US-designated terrorist groups that focus on attacks outside the country continued to operate from Pakistani soil. The report highlighted Islamabad proffered safe heaven for major terror outfits including, the Haqqani Network, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, and Jaish-e-Mohammed. The US analysis report noted that the Pakistan government and military did not act consistently to dismantle certain terrorist groups. The government also failed to prosecute terrorists including, masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks such as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) founder Masood Azhar and Lashkar-e-Taiba's (LeT) Sajid Mir.

Terrorist outfits operate unchallenged in Pakistan, claims new US report

Notably, every year, the US Department of State publishes Country Reports on Terrorism (CRT), which provides a detailed look at the counterterrorism environment last year and helps the United States and other terrorism affected countries to make policies accordingly. "Regionally, terrorist groups continued to operate from Pakistan. Groups targeting Afghanistan — including the Afghan Taliban and affiliated HQN, as well as groups targeting India, including LeT and its affiliated front organizations, and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) — continued to operate from Pakistani territory," read the report.

 "JeM continues to operate openly in parts of Pakistan, conducting fatal attacks in the region, despite the country’s 2002 ban on its activities. JeM has claimed responsibility for several suicide car bombings in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, including a 2001 suicide attack on the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly building in Srinagar that killed more than 30 people, added the US report.

According to the report, the United States will continue to build its strategic partnership with the Government of India, including through bilateral engagements such as the 17th Counterterrorism Joint Working Group and Third Designations Dialogue in September, as well as the third 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in October. The report noted that the Indian counterterrorism forces, at the federal and state levels, actively detected and disrupted transnational and regional terror forces. "The National Investigation Agency (NIA) examined 34 terrorism-related cases related to ISIS and arrested 160 persons, including 10 alleged Al Qaeda operatives from Kerala and West Bengal, in September," as per the reports.

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