The US report claims that Pakistan is still a safe haven for terrorists

New delhi date. Wednesday, June 24, 2020

The United States on Wednesday said it had taken "general action" against India-based militant groups to prevent Pakistan from financing terrorism in 2019 and from carrying out large-scale attacks in the wake of the Pulwama attack in February that year. But it still stands as a safe haven for terrorist groups active in the region. The State Department said the US aid package to Pakistan provided by US President Donald Trump in January 2018 remained in place until 2019.

In the annual report of the country's Parliamentary Empowerment Committee on Terrorism, the Foreign Ministry said that Pakistan had taken action against several external-focused groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed, in three separate cases of economic financing of terrorism. The ministry said, however, that Pakistan has become a safe haven for other terrorist organizations concentrated in the region.

The report said they allow the Afghan Taliban and allied Haqqani network to operate from their territory, targeting Afghanistan. In this way they allow Lashkar-e-Taiba and many of its affiliated organizations and Jaish terrorists to use their land targeting India.

The External Affairs Ministry has alleged that it has not taken any action against other notorious terrorists such as Jaish-e-Mohammed founder and public terrorist Masood Azhaq and Sajid Mir, project manager of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, who are believed to be roaming openly in Pakistan.

Pakistan, however, has made some positive contributions to the Afghanistan peace process, including encouraging the Taliban to reduce violence. Pakistan has made some progress towards the necessary action plan for FATF which has saved it from being blacklisted but in 2019 it has not fully implemented every point of the action plan.