Daily Times

Pakistan can still surprise the world. And sometimes even in a good way. This is one such occasion. For nine years after the Mumbai attacks — Hafiz Saeed has been officially linked to terrorism. Hallelujah.

But this being a hard country the move came about last week when President Mamnoon Hussain, quietly and behind-the-scenes, promulgated the Anti-terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018. Meaning that as of now: all individuals and entities outlawed by the UN carry the same designation here in Pakistan.

This is an extremely significant development and the government should be supported towards this end. It is more than likely that the US de-linking of Lashkar-e-Taiba from the list of terrorist outfits that we were to go after to receive military assistance from Washington had a role to play. For free from the public perception of simply kowtowing to American pressure — the civilian leadership found the breathing space to manoeuvre.

Yet it is extremely telling that this didn’t go to Parliament and was only announced this week as a done deal. The government had, after all, been vocal in requesting the courts to refrain from releasing Hafiz Saeed from house arrest; to no avail. Similarly, it had reportedly opposed the military establishment’s initial overtures to take part ownership of the controversial militant-mainstreaming project.

All of which means that Pakistan is not out of the woods yet. Admittedly, in the short-term, the change in our anti-terror law will likely strengthen our position ahead of the upcoming Financial Action Task Force (FATF) pow wow. But we will have to wait and see how the security apparatus will steer this process. After all, Saeed is a well-known protégé and the most high-profile of so-called ‘reformed’ assets; apart from a certain former Army chief who has seemingly developed a newfound respect for the democratic process except, of course, when it comes to the un-small matter of pending charges against him. Not only that, Saeed was due to contest this summer’s general elections from the MML platform; in Nawaz Sharif’s old ’hood no less.

To be sure, the proscribing of the LeT strongman represents a minor shift whereby the civvies are taking charge of security matters. How far this process leads to a mega clean up of Pakistan’s polity remains to be seen. Already, there have long been murmurings from retired generals urging the de-linking of the Kashmir issue from the broader issue of cross-border terrorism in the global imagination. And LeT has been said to be fighting India over that disputed territory for some three decades. In fact, it is also believed that Osama Bin Laden put down part of the initial seed money. Then there is the question of how the deep-state still sees the battle for Kashmir as essential to Pakistan’s very survival given that the area represents the key to securing long-term access to precious water resources.

Much can happen between now and when Pakistanis go to the polls. The Army may or may not come out of the barracks in broad daylight. Just as the security establishment may or may impact the electoral process. Though, to be honest, we think the days for such chicanery are through. What will be telling is if a petition is swiftly filed before the higher judiciary seeking to reverse this presidential amendment. And if this does come to pass, the way in which due process is meted out will indicate whether or not there is intra-state consensus on the recent decisions.

Needless to say, Pakistan stands to gain by complying with the international protocols and commitments on terrorism. It will improve its international image and also rid the country of a skewed jihadist culture. *

Published in Daily Times, February 14^th 2018.