Saeed release may affect NSA talks
NEW DELHI: The release of Lashkar-e-taiba (LET) founder Hafiz Saeed could queer the pitch further on talks between the National Security Advisors of the two countries that, according to experts, were anyway not making much progress, largely on account on Pakistan’s reluctance to act against terror groups.
The NSAS of the two countries have been in touch over phone since December 2015 and, most recently, met in Bangkok last month. According to South Block officials, India’s NSA Ajit Doval, the Narendra Modi government’s point person on Pakistan, has been pressing his Pakistani counterpart Lt Gen (Retd) Naseer Janjua on action against the Jaish-eMohammed, whose members were involved in the terror strike on the Pathankot airbase in January 2016. Now, things have been exacerbated by the release of Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.
The timing couldn’t have been more off: Saeed was released just ahead of the 9th anniversary of the attacks.
With India raising the issue of funding of Pakistan based terror groups at the November 3 Argentina plenary of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global body aimed at stopping money laundering and the financing of terror groups, the release of Saeed will spell out more trouble for Islamabad, Indian officials said. “Hafiz Saeed’s release and subsequent strong condemnation from the global community, particularly the US will lead to the squeezing of development funds by international banks to Pakistan,” said a senior Indian government official. New Delhi, on its part is in no mood to substantively engage with Islamabad until it acts against terror groups operating on its soil, the South Block officials said.
Hindustan Times learns that Pakistan NSA Janjua raised the issue of cross-border firing from the Indian side in Jammu and Kashmir with Doval.
However, the Indian NSA made it clear that firing was to prevent terrorists from infiltrating into the state with the help of the Pakistan Army and Inter-services Intelligence (ISI). Despite the Narendra Modi government appointing an interlocutor for Kashmir to solve internal issues, the Indian Army and J &K Police have been given a free hand to tackle terrorism.
“The NSA level dialogue will only bear fruit if Janjua can get his government to deliver on promises made to the international community of not allowing terrorist safe havens and shelter to some 44 odd terrorists groups based in Pakistan. The political turmoil within the weak civilian establishment in Pakistan, which is at mercy of the Rawalpindi GHQ, severely hampers the negotiating ability of Janjua with Doval,” the Indian government official added.