Banned terrorist outfits' activities will be hard to stop until Pak Army stops supporting them: Editorial

Massachusetts Sun (ANI) Sunday 5th February, 2012

The activities of banned terrorist outfits will definitely be a humongous task to stop because they were allegedly created and nurtured by Pakistan's military, an editorial has claimed.

Banned terrorist organisations are freely operating all over Pakistan without risking the ire of the law enforcement agencies. Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) was banned, but changed its name to Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) was banned but changed its name to Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), and now both these terrorist outfits are carrying on with their activities with impunity, a Daily Times editorial has claimed.

Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik had earlier blame a delay in the approval of an amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act for banned organisations' holding rallies across the country. Apparently the amendment bill is still with the Senate Standing Committee despite the passage of two years.

While the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government blames the Punjab government for having a soft spot for terrorist outfits, especially the JuD and LeJ, reports have emerged that intelligence agencies have been tracking new bank accounts by jihadi groups under new names in order to receive funds from within Pakistan and outside the country. These secret accounts must be exposed and shut down immediately.

While the political forces as a whole are not doing much to stop the activities of banned outfits, we must not forget that all these organisations were created and nurtured by our military, the editorial said.

To date they either have the covert or overt support of the Pakistan Army and its intelligence agencies, it said, adding that when the most powerful institution in the country is behind them, it would definitely be a humongous task to stop their nefarious activities.

It is therefore, necessary to pass the amendment bill pending in parliament so that a strong Anti-Terrorism Act can tackle this issue, the editorial added. (ANI)