JOIN US The Pakistan government announced that two FIRs have been registered against him and he has been put under house arrest. But the FIRs registered in Faisalabad were of a general nature — for glorifying jihad and soliciting funds for it — and not for his role in the Mumbai terrorist attack. Pakistan still says the evidence India provided for his involvement in the attack is not sufficient. Even the charges which have now been made against him are considered to be weak, and perhaps designed to fail in the courts. Even the house arrest is dubious. This was stated to be in the interest of his own security. That means he is being protected. His movements are being restricted, if at all, not to curb his activities but to ensure his safety.
Tell-tale evidence is also available of the continuing patronage he gets from the Pakistani establishment. He was present, on invitation, at an iftar hosted by an army unit in Rawalpindi this week. The anti-India activities that he has encouraged have grown over the last few months. There are reports that 10 new terrorist camps have been set up in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir after the Mumbai attack. There are an estimated 62 of them now and the Pakistan government has not acted against them. Infiltration from across the border has also increased this year, compared to last year. There are more cases of violation of the border. Against these facts, the claim of Pakistani authorities that they are serious about fighting terrorism and curbing anti-India activities sounds hollow.
The purported action against Hafiz Saeed can be seen only as a talking point to impress India before the foreign ministers’ meeting in New York. Pakistan had similarly gone through the motions of appealing in the Supreme Court against his release by a lower court before the Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting of leaders in July. India should make it clear to Pakistan that no real progress can be made on bilateral dialogue unless Pakistan takes credible and effective actions against Saeed and others who have plotted and acted against India. The continuing refusal of Pakistan should be seen as proof of endorsement and involvement of the Pakistani establishment in the 26/11 and other hostile acts against India.