Imran Khan Admits Terror Groups Exist In Pakistan
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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Although Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan must be commended for his candour, and more importantly for having the courage, in admitting that there were 40 terrorist groups in Pakistan in the past and there are still 30000-40000 armed people (notice the language, "armed people" and not terrorists), his admission must be recognized for what it is - an attempt to paint himself as a saint and all previous prime ministers as villains in the eyes of the US. His admission must also be seen in the context of Pakistan's relations with the US. He has said things which the US knew all along and in saying so he is trying to tell them that he will be different and will help the US in its fight against terror and address its security concerns in Afghanistan. He is also trying to ensure that the funds US gives to Pakistan to fight against the Taliban and other terror groups do not dry up.
Khan cited the watershed moment in Pakistani politics in 2014 when after the Pakistan Taliban slaughtered 150 children at Army Public School; all political parties signed the National Action Plan, resolving not to allow terrorist groups to operate in Pakistan. He forgot to add that it was only on paper. For, even after that, Lashkar e Toiba, Jaish e Mohammed and other terror groups have functioned with impunity. Pakistan failed to take action, till recently, against Masood Azhar despite severe international pressure and acted half-heartedly (freezing accounts and imposing a travel ban) only after he was declared an international terrorist by the UN. Does Imran mean that Pakistan will take action against all terror groups that are inimical to US interests and do nothing about those who operate against India? Is he talking about "good" terrorists and "bad" terrorists and saying that since those who fight India are good terrorists, he will not act against them?
The United States must take Imran's admission and the claim of acting against terror groups with a pinch of salt. Imran said that previous governments had no control over the situation and that allowed the terrorist groups to operate freely and that they lied to the US about the situation on the ground. The civilian government in Pakistan still has no control over such matters. These are controlled by the Pakistani army and its intelligence wing, the ISI. The Pakistani government will still tell the US what the army and the ISI want it to tell, nothing more and nothing less. As for India, it will feel vindicated by Imran's admission but will seriously dispute his claim of acting against the terror groups. It will point out that terror groups like JeM and LeT are still operating with impunity and the so-called action the Pakistanis claim to have taken is nothing but eyewash to ease the pressure from the international community.
