Pakistan not taking action against LeT and Haqqani network, United
States
Last Updated: Friday, June 3, 2016 - 02:52
Washington: Terrorist safe havens not only continue
to exist in the tribal areas of Pakistan, but also militants are able to openly
raise funds from heavily populated areas, the US on Thursday said alleging that
Islamabad is not taking action against terror groups like Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
As a result, Pakistan-based terrorist groups continue to conduct
terrorist attacks inside India and Afghanistan, the State Department said in
its annual 'Country Reports on Terrorism ? 2015', which is mandated by
Congress.
"In 2015, an assortment of terrorist groups, to include the Haqqani
Network, attempted to hide in or operate from the Federally Administered Tribal
Areas of Pakistan, a mountainous region along Pakistan?s northwest border with
Afghanistan," the State Department said.
It said some UN-designated terrorist groups, such as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba
(LeT) affiliates Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation, were able to
raise funds and hold rallies in Pakistan.
LeT and JuD leader, Hafiz Saeed, who is also a UN-designated terrorist,
was able to make frequent public appearances in support of the organization's
objectives, which were covered by the Pakistani media, for much of the year.
"In September, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Agency
prohibited media coverage of LeT and affiliated groups, although the groups
continued to recruit and operate around the country. Despite JuD and FiF's
proscription under UN sanctions regimes, the Pakistani government affirmed in
December that neither organization was banned in Pakistan," the State
Department said.
India, the State Department said continued to experience terrorist
attacks, including operations launched by Maoist insurgents and transnational
groups based in Pakistan.
Indian authorities continued to blame Pakistan for cross-border attacks
in Jammu and Kashmir.
In July, India experienced a terrorist attack in Gurdaspur, Punjab; the
first in Punjab state since the 1990s, the report said.
Over the course of 2015, the Indian government sought to deepen
counterterrorism cooperation with the US.
President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued to
prioritize counterterrorism cooperation during Obama's visit to India in
January and Modi's visit to Washington in September.
The Indian government closely monitored the domestic threat from IS and
other terrorist organisations, it said.
The State Department said Pakistan is slow in taking action against 2008
Mumbai attack perpetrators.
"Anti-Terrorism Courts had limited procedures for obtaining or
admitting foreign evidence. The trial of seven suspects accused in the 2008
Mumbai terrorist attack was ongoing at year's end, with many witnesses for the
prosecution remaining to be called by the court," it said.
"Security concerns and procedural issues resulted in a slow pace of
trial proceedings," the State Department said.
In December 2014, the court granted bail to the lead defendant, alleged
Mumbai attack planner and LeT operational commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi.
Lakhvi was released from prison on bail in April 2015 and the government
of Pakistan reports he remained under house arrest at the end of 2015, it
added.
According to the State Department, money transfer systems persisted
throughout much of Pakistan, especially along the border with Afghanistan, and
may be abused by drug traffickers and terrorist financiers operating in the
cross-border area.
While Pakistani authorities did report having frozen assets of
UN-designated entities during 2015, the amount was unclear.
The US government was not informed of any successful terrorism financing
prosecutions in 2015.
PTI
First Published: Friday, June 3, 2016 - 02:52
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