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US 'concern' over terrorist mentor Hafiz Saeed's presence at Pak rally
Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN | Feb 17, 2012, 06.13AM IST
WASHINGTON: The Obama administration on Wednesday expressed token concern over the recent public appearance of Lashkar-e-Taiba leader and alleged terrorist mentor Hafiz Saeed at a rally in Karachi, gently reminding Pakistan that the organization and its front group Jamaat-ud Dawa is "internationally sanctioned because of its association with al-Qaida."
"We have and continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to uphold its obligations in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1267/1989," the State Department said in a statement after receiving and considering a question from a journalist about the recent rally in Pakistan that featured Saeed and other terrorist principals. "That resolution calls for all countries to freeze assets of sanctioned groups, prevent the transfer of arms to them, and prevent sanctioned individuals from entering or transiting their territories."
The US statement would appear to be nothing more than tokenism considering Saeed has enjoyed free movement and making public speeches for a long time now, reportedly with the blessings of the Pakistani military establishment, without any punitive action by Washington. Instead, the Obama administration has continued to lavish aid on Islamabad - including a proposed $ 2.4 billion in the latest U.S budget and the last three jets from a consignment of 18 F-16 jets - despite the Pakistani military's long-standing promotion of extremism and terrorism chronicled by many experts, including Pakistani analysts.
The ostensible reason for the State Department stirring out of its traditional stupor when it comes to Pakistan's infractions is an anti-American rally by several banned religious extremists and right-wing political parties under the banner of Difa-e-Pakistan (Defense of Pakistan Council) last week. The rally, to be followed by others across Pakistan, "has raised suspicions that the group has approval from elements in the powerful military and security establishment, aiming to bolster public support for a hard-line position," Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday quoting news agencies.
Not that Pakistani military's ties to terrorism has particularly bothered Washington. Former CIA analyst and administration official Bruce Riedel pointed out this week that a top Pakistani spook had said former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was in the know about Osama bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad and he ought to be questioned when he comes to the U.S, where he visits as a frequent guest. But the suggestion is getting no traction in a city that has often winked at Pakistan's use of the so-called 'assymmetric' strategies.
Other western wire reports have also raised the red flag about the reported surge by the alliance of militant Islamist groups which are opposed to both the U.S and India, and see them as allies conspiring against Pakistan. The new alliance, campaigning for a break in ties with Washington and an end to warming relations with New Delhi, "is giving clear shape for the first time in many years to an underworld of hyper-nationalism, militancy, sectarianism and faith-based politics whose influence in Pakistan has until now operated largely beneath the surface," a Reuters commentary said this week.
"Given widespread suspicion that the alliance enjoys the tacit backing of the Pakistan Army -- few believe it could operate so openly without the approval of the generals in Rawalpindi -- it also provides an (albeit distorted) window into the thinking of the country's powerful security establishment," it added, concluding that the military would have many reasons to give the DPC tacit approval because it serves as a convenient stalking horse for an army which wants to extract more from Washington while conceding little.
It is also a reminder to Pakistani's civilian government not to be over-enthusiastic in improving ties with India (talks on Pakistan giving MFN status to India have stalled, it said.
But the dominant view in Washington, as also in New Delhi, is that Pakistan needs to be engaged continuously and walked away from its self-propelled slide into extremism and chaos, although some voices are seeking punitive action, warning that Islamabad and its generals are counting on such appeasement and therefore deliberately courting extremism. In a speech on Wednesday at a Boston college, India's ambassador to the U.S Nirupama Rao spoke of India's "earnest and committed efforts to build a peaceful, cooperative and normal relationship (with Pakistan), and to reduce the trust deficit that has blighted that relationship for so long."
"It is our hope and expectation that these efforts are not thwarted by the threat of terrorism that continues to emanate from within Pakistan and, whose deadly impact is increasingly felt within that country," Rao said, even as the State Department, which has advocated continuous engagement with Pakistan despite its shifty policies, bestirred itself after the latest provocation to register a token warning.
Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN | Feb 17, 2012, 06.13AM IST
WASHINGTON: The Obama administration on Wednesday expressed token concern over the recent public appearance of Lashkar-e-Taiba leader and alleged terrorist mentor Hafiz Saeed at a rally in Karachi, gently reminding Pakistan that the organization and its front group Jamaat-ud Dawa is "internationally sanctioned because of its association with al-Qaida."
"We have and continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to uphold its obligations in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1267/1989," the State Department said in a statement after receiving and considering a question from a journalist about the recent rally in Pakistan that featured Saeed and other terrorist principals. "That resolution calls for all countries to freeze assets of sanctioned groups, prevent the transfer of arms to them, and prevent sanctioned individuals from entering or transiting their territories."
The US statement would appear to be nothing more than tokenism considering Saeed has enjoyed free movement and making public speeches for a long time now, reportedly with the blessings of the Pakistani military establishment, without any punitive action by Washington. Instead, the Obama administration has continued to lavish aid on Islamabad - including a proposed $ 2.4 billion in the latest U.S budget and the last three jets from a consignment of 18 F-16 jets - despite the Pakistani military's long-standing promotion of extremism and terrorism chronicled by many experts, including Pakistani analysts.
The ostensible reason for the State Department stirring out of its traditional stupor when it comes to Pakistan's infractions is an anti-American rally by several banned religious extremists and right-wing political parties under the banner of Difa-e-Pakistan (Defense of Pakistan Council) last week. The rally, to be followed by others across Pakistan, "has raised suspicions that the group has approval from elements in the powerful military and security establishment, aiming to bolster public support for a hard-line position," Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday quoting news agencies.
Not that Pakistani military's ties to terrorism has particularly bothered Washington. Former CIA analyst and administration official Bruce Riedel pointed out this week that a top Pakistani spook had said former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was in the know about Osama bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad and he ought to be questioned when he comes to the U.S, where he visits as a frequent guest. But the suggestion is getting no traction in a city that has often winked at Pakistan's use of the so-called 'assymmetric' strategies.
Other western wire reports have also raised the red flag about the reported surge by the alliance of militant Islamist groups which are opposed to both the U.S and India, and see them as allies conspiring against Pakistan. The new alliance, campaigning for a break in ties with Washington and an end to warming relations with New Delhi, "is giving clear shape for the first time in many years to an underworld of hyper-nationalism, militancy, sectarianism and faith-based politics whose influence in Pakistan has until now operated largely beneath the surface," a Reuters commentary said this week.
"Given widespread suspicion that the alliance enjoys the tacit backing of the Pakistan Army -- few believe it could operate so openly without the approval of the generals in Rawalpindi -- it also provides an (albeit distorted) window into the thinking of the country's powerful security establishment," it added, concluding that the military would have many reasons to give the DPC tacit approval because it serves as a convenient stalking horse for an army which wants to extract more from Washington while conceding little.
It is also a reminder to Pakistani's civilian government not to be over-enthusiastic in improving ties with India (talks on Pakistan giving MFN status to India have stalled, it said.
But the dominant view in Washington, as also in New Delhi, is that Pakistan needs to be engaged continuously and walked away from its self-propelled slide into extremism and chaos, although some voices are seeking punitive action, warning that Islamabad and its generals are counting on such appeasement and therefore deliberately courting extremism. In a speech on Wednesday at a Boston college, India's ambassador to the U.S Nirupama Rao spoke of India's "earnest and committed efforts to build a peaceful, cooperative and normal relationship (with Pakistan), and to reduce the trust deficit that has blighted that relationship for so long."
"It is our hope and expectation that these efforts are not thwarted by the threat of terrorism that continues to emanate from within Pakistan and, whose deadly impact is increasingly felt within that country," Rao said, even as the State Department, which has advocated continuous engagement with Pakistan despite its shifty policies, bestirred itself after the latest provocation to register a token warning.
