Islamabad, Pakistan: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has failed to eliminate terrorism from his own soil. He had a great opportunity but did not use it at all and on contrary gave support to terror organising groups.
According to Sergio Restelli’s blog in Times of Israel, the elected government in Pakistan had a golden opportunity to root out all terror hubs after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack which failed in doing so.
Earlier, there was intense pressure from the international community to take strong action against the Lashkar -e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who had planned and executed the assault on Mumbai.
However, it failed to do so which had implications for the country as it had not only strengthened the radical forces but encouraged more such terror groups to form.
According to the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) there are 15 major militant groups in Pakistan, which are responsible for terror activities across the globe.
Further, Al Qaeda, Islamic State-Khorasan Province, the Haqqani Network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Harakat-ul Jihad Islami, Harakat ul-Mujahidin, Hizbul Mujahideen, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan are among the 15 terror outfits listed out by the CRS.
“It’s expected that with the return of Taliban in Afghanistan, these groups are going to be more powerful, leading to a resurgence of regional terrorism and militancy, ” said the CRS
As per Restelli, several international reports suggest nexus between the radical, terror groups and Pakistan’s powerful army and its spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The shoddy probes and filing of weak charge sheets have often led to the non-conviction of many dreaded terrorists. And the trial of the Mumbai attack in Pakistan is a classic case to support the claim.
Despite the submission of strong evidence from India and the US, the perpetrators -Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi of the LeT have not been punished for the 26/attacks.
It’s also expected that terrorist organizations will find further support from Pakistan with the rise of the Taliban across Afghanistan, reported Times of Israel.
