Pakistan safe haven to terrorists targetting India, did not prosecute 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind: USA

The US on Wednesday slammed Pakistan saying it continued to serve a safe haven to terrorist groups targeting India and allowed them to operate from its territory. It also stated that Pakistan took modest steps in 2019 to counter terror financing.

The US Department of State Bureau of Counterterrorism in its report on terrorism said, “Pakistan continued to serve as a safe haven for certain regionally-focused terrorist groups. It allowed groups targeting Afghanistan, including the Afghan Taliban and affiliated HQN, as well as groups targeting India, including LeT and its affiliated front organizations, and JeM, to operate from its territory.”

Citing the 2015 National Action Plan to counter-terrorism, the US asserted that Pakistan's progress on this aspect “remains unfulfilled”. “Pakistan's progress on the most difficult aspects of its 2015 National Action Plan to counter terrorism remains unfulfilled – specifically its pledge to dismantle all terrorist organizations without delay and discrimination.”

The report further stated that Pakistan has made no effort to prosecute terrorist leaders such as Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) founder Masood Azhar and the mastermind of LeT's 2008 Mumbai attacks Sajid Mir. It added that both of them are widely believed to reside in Pakistan under the protection of the state.

“While Pakistani authorities indicted LeT co-founder Hafiz Saeed and 12 of his associates on December 11, they have made no effort to use domestic authorities to prosecute other terrorist leaders such as JeM founder Masood Azhar and Sajid Mir, the mastermind of LeT's 2008 Mumbai attacks, both of whom are widely believed to reside in Pakistan under the protection of the state, despite government denials,” stated the report.

It further said that Pakistan took modest steps in 2019 to counter terror financing and to restrain some India-focused terrorist groups following the February 2019 attack on a security convoy in Jammu and Kashmir claimed by Pakistan-based JeM. “Thus far, however, Islamabad has yet to take decisive actions against Indian- and Afghanistan-focused militants who would undermine their operational capability.”