Lapsed ban

Defeating militancy has never been only about victory on the battlefield. As the National Action Plan lays out clearly, we have to defeat the extremist mindset. That requires making no distinctions between different groups based on their perceived usefulness. If the National Action Plan doesn’t convince the state then the last two weeks of meetings and negotiations with the Financial Action Task Force should have been a wake-up call. The world is so worried about Pakistan’s inaction against terror financing that it is ready to shut us off from the international financial system. Against this backdrop, it simply defies belief that Hafiz Saeed’s Jamaatud Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation have reportedly been removed from the list of proscribed outfits.

Saeed individually and the organisations he heads have been banned and sanctioned by the United Nations. Pakistan belatedly did the same through a presidential ordinance after it became clear that the FATF would take action against us and even allies like China would not offer any protection. That ordinance has now been allowed to lapse without being extended by President Arif Alvi or formalised through legislation.

The current government has spent its few months in power blaming all the country’s problems on the previous dispensation. This lapse, though, is entirely on the PTI government. It is not clear if the lapse was a result of oversight or otherwise. If it was simply a mistake, then the government needs to correct it soon. The bank accounts of JuD and FIF can be reopened if they are not banned and they can once again begin soliciting donations. If there was any chance of the FATF removing Pakistan from its grey list, it will surely disappear if that is allowed to happen. The PTI has been accused by some of making strategic alliances with extremist groups. Now that it is in power at the centre, this policy – whether borne of appeasement or not – will have terrible consequences. It will also give a green light to other even more violent militant groups that they can resume their activities. The government needs to act fast so that militant groups don’t assume that they will be tolerated with a wink and a nod.