Government gave what has to be one of the weakest excuses for not going after a jihadi group today. According to Minister for States and Frontier Region retired Gen Abdul Qadir, Jamaat-ud-Dawa will not be proscribed even though it has been termed a terrorist group by the United Nations because the UN did not share any evidence against with Pakistan. This is the same excuse that was given by government when the world said that Osama bin Laden was believed to be living in Pakistan. It’s the same excuse that government gave when Iran complained of militants carrying out cross-border attacks. Each time someone points to jihadis the government says, “show us the evidence!” And each time we end up eating our words. Osama bin Laden is discovered in Abbottabad. Jihadis kill Iranian soldiers. And Jamaat-ud-Dawa holds public rallies to recruit fighters and raise money for weapons for jihad. Hafiz Saed openly tells that Jamaat-ud-Dawa is carrying out jihad in Kashmir, something he says is the official policy of Pakistan government. He has also declared jihad against Israel, and his group has openly set up camps in Gaza. But still we keep saying “show us the evidence” as if we are deaf, dumb, and blind.
We know what Jamaat-ud-Dawa is, and yet we continue pretending that we don’t. So the question remains unanswered whether our inaction against jihadis is due to our being unable or unwilling. With Osama bin Laden, we have decided on incompetence as our excuse. Will we do the same with Hafiz Saeed? Or should we just be honest and admit that we support his jihad? After all, we’re already funding it.
