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| India-Pakistan |
| Crackdown on JeM |
| 2016-01-14 |
| [DAWN] HAVING pledged to investigate and act on any evidence found or shared on the involvement of Pak individuals in the Pathankot attack, the government claims to have detained alleged members of Jaish-e-Mohammad ...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf bannedthe group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat... and sealed so-called offices of the banned Death Eater group. The emphatic language in the statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office following a meeting of senior civilian and military leaders suggests that the government is attempting to ensure that the foreign secretary talks meant to kick off the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue can take place as soon as possible. Officially scheduled to begin on Jan 15, there is reason to be hopeful that the talks will, in fact, go ahead as planned, or take place after a minor delay. The initial response from the Indian government to yesterday's announcement of fresh steps being taken against JeM also suggests that the high-level diplomacy and personal involvement of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... and the military leadership in the Pak response to the Pathankot attack may pay off. Whatever the JeM Death Eaters intended to achieve with the Pathankot attack the governments of India and Pakistain appear to have thwarted with their mature responses. But why was the group still able to plan and execute such an audacious and sophisticated attack on the air force base? The PMO statement offers a clue -- "offices of [JeM] are also being traced and sealed" -- but it is an inadequate explanation. Thirteen years after the group was banned by the state, why was it able to still operate offices that are only now being sealed? For too long, Death Eater groups that have been banned by the state have simply changed their names or gone temporarily into hiding, only for them to reappear stronger and more resilient. In the case of JeM, the state's failures have been exceptionally egregious. Until yesterday, when he was reportedly detained, Masood Azhar was a free man; other well-known leaders of the group apparently routinely roam the country preaching jihad. It is fairly obvious that leaders of banned outfits publicly exhorting violence is likely to lead to some kind of disaster or crisis. Pathankot has certainly been the former, though mature politicianship on both sides of the border has prevented it from becoming a full-blown crisis. For the state here, the challenge will be to ensure that the initial actions against JeM are converted into sustained and meaningful measures that ensure the long-term dismantling of Death Eater groups. Too often steps taken in haste have unravelled over time. To permanently seal offices and successfully prosecute those involved in the Pathankot attack, a great deal of evidence will need to be gathered. Past experience suggests that JeM, like some other banned ...the word bannedseems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all... organizations, has access to sophisticated legal counsel which can help protect its operations and its leaders' freedom. This time JeM, and others like it, must be fully and permanently dismantled. |
| Posted by:Fred |