On meetings, secret reports and good neighbours

Even as “normalisation ” of relations with Pakistan continues apace (meeting of leaders in Russia, followed by Foreign Minister’s meeting in Italy followed by a meeting of Foreign Secretaries sometime soon, likely to be followed by another meeting of PMs in Egypt in July) courtesy BBC, comes this disturbing bit of news (emphasis mine):

Militant groups banned in Pakistan are expanding operations and recruitment in Pakistani-run Kashmir, according to a government report seen by the BBC.

The observations are from a detailed secret report submitted to the region’s government on the groups’ activities in the city of Muzaffarabad and elsewhere.

Pakistan banned the groups in 2002 after an attack on India’s parliament brought the two states close to war.

…It finds that three banned groups – Harkatul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba – are active in Muzaffarabad.

Harkatul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad are said to be planning to open madrassas, or Islamic schools, in the city where Lashkar-e-Taiba is already operating a madrassa.

…The report also elaborates how the militant groups are growing in size and number across Kashmir.

…It then goes on to say that the authorities should take up the matter with the intelligence agency responsible for the militants*.

The report says officials from that agency should relocate the militants to some area near the border, otherwise clashes with locals could take place.

…The report’s contents are astonishing, as they come at a time when Pakistan’s security forces are involved in a fully fledged operation against the Taliban.

…Jaish-e-Mohammad has been involved in several assassination attempts on top Pakistani officials, including former President Pervez Musharraf.

Its members were also responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street journalist Daniel Pearl, and are said to have carried out the attack on the Indian parliament.

…Lashkar-e-Taiba remains the prime suspect in the Mumbai attacks and is India’s enemy number one.

Despite the fact that the groups mentioned are banned under Pakistan’s terrorism act, the report does not advocate any action against them other than to keep an eye on their activities**.

In case you had forgotten, Lashkar-e-Taiba has been directly implicated in the Mumbai attack and earlier this month, its founder, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed was released by a court in Pakistan , citing lack of evidence.

In the meantime, we continue to replay empty messages:

Mr Tharoor said Dr Singh’s message to Mr Zardari was: ‘Take necessary steps in your own country to bring to book those who perpetrated these horrors on our soil and then give us enough assurance for your own conduct that we will not have to fear this again.’

Sigh.

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Related Posts:

Is India prepared for an imploding Pakistan?

Waiting for a “fitting reply”*

The nonsense about “non-state actors”

We know its Pakistan but we hope its not!

and the whole category of Pakistan-related posts

* This is probably as close as one gets to an official admission of ISI’s involvement in terrorism against India.

** This raises (once again) the question about Pakistan’s seriousness in tackling terrorism against India.

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