Sunday, Dec 15, 2002
Sunday, Dec 15, 2002 |
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By Amit Baruah
Using strong language, the Foreign Office spokesman said the Pakistani policy of supporting terrorism remained unchanged — whether under a military dictatorship or a regime with a civilian veneer. He said that Azhar had been allowed to keep in touch with Jaish cadres after his arrest and, later, placed under "home detention" with a stipend being paid by the Pakistani Government. "This is not surprising since it is well known that it is the Pakistani state and its agencies which have been involved in the building up of the terrorist structures such as the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Lashkar-e-Taiba,'' he said, pointing out that the Lashkar chief, Hafiz Saeed, was released recently. In what could amount to implicit criticism of the U.S. policy towards Pakistan, the spokesman said: "Any strategy which seeks to ignore Pakistan's own involvement with and sponsorship of terrorism and focusses, even for the short term, only on the unwilling and limited support provided in search of a few of the hardcore Al-Qaeda, will never see long-term victory against the hydra-headed monster of terrorism..." Asked if his remarks amounted to criticism of U.S. policy, the spokesman replied that this was not the case. He, however, stressed there were no good terrorists and bad terrorists and that there should be no double standards in the war against terrorism. The spokesman said that while well-established democratic leaders were not allowed to contest the recently-manipulated elections in Pakistan, many who were linked even to banned terrorist organisations were permitted to enter the fray after charges against them were withdrawn at the last moment. "It is against this background that one has also seen reports of Anees Ibrahim, having been spirited away to Pakistan, the well-established safe haven for terrorists. Ibrahim, who had been recently detained in Dubai, had arrived there from Pakistan. He was in the list of 20 whose handing over had been sought by India since December last year. Pakistan had falsely claimed that none of the persons in the list were in that country. ``Subsequently, (Pakistani) President (Pervez) Musharraf had, in his January 12 speech, disingenuously suggested that no Pakistani national would be handed over, but Indian nationals had not been given asylum. Hence, the recourse to the ploy to give Pakistani nationality to such persons sought to be sheltered. The seeking and grant of such nationality also points unambiguously to the complicity of Pakistani authorities with these terrorists,'' he said. The spokesman also claimed that a Sikh jatha, which had recently visited Pakistan, noticed the presence of three leading terrorists (Lakhbir Singh, Wadhawa Singh and Gajinder Singh), whose handover India has demanded. "It is quite clear that Pakistan is continuing with the policy of terrorism as an instrument of its state policy, in violation of international law, and its own publicly declared commitments. ``Whether Pakistan has an unvarnished military dictatorship or an electoral varnish is put on it, their mindset and policies, as evidenced by the putting back in circulation of Masood Azhar, remain unchanged. We will, of course, continue to take necessary steps to safeguard our national security,'' he added.
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