Aaj Ki Baat September 26 episode
Pakistan has requested the United Nations Security Council committee to allow terror outfits Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed to withdraw a limited amount of money (Rs 1.5 lakh) from his bank account for "necessary basic living expenses".
The request has been formally accepted by the UNSC committee as part of an automatic process, since the Pakistani government has supported release of funds to a sanctioned individual for "basic expenses".
Jamaat-ud-Dawa was designated by the United Nations as a terrorist organisation in December, 2008 after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed by terrorists trained and sent by Pakistan. Hafiz Saeed's bank account was blocked by the Pakistan government in compliance with the UNSC resolution 1267 and the funds of JuD and other related organisations were frozen.
The Pakistan government has now sought release of Rs 1.5 lakh from these frozen funds to cover "necessary basic living expenses for Saeed and his family". Saeed was a professor before he started his nefarious terror activities, and his monthly pension is being deposited into his bank account by the Pakistan government.
The soft attitude shown towards the Lashkar terror mastermind by the Pakistani government clearly exposes the hollowness of its claims of combating terrorism. It is because of Pakistan's open support to terror outfits like Lashkar and Jaish-e-Mohammad that Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has ruled out any talks with what he called 'Terroristan'.
Jaishankar is right. How can India start dialogue with a neighbouring country which sends terrorists from across the border, stages attacks on its army bases, spills the blood of innocent people and then extends its hand of friendship?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has clearly exposed on the world arena, the sheer hypocrisy of Pakistan's stand on terrorism. Almost the entire world is now unwilling to trust Pakistan on the issue of combating terrorism, because it was in Abottabad, Pakistan, that the Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was found hiding and scores of terror outfits are being nurtured in what is known as the "cradle of jihadi terrorism".
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan may plead innocence on the world stage, but none of the Big Powers are willing to listen to him. Time has come for the Pakistani army and establishment to seriously introspect and root out terrorism from its soil.
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Aaj Ki Baat: Monday to Friday, 9 PM
India’s Number One and the most followed Super Prime Time News Show ‘Aaj Ki Baat – Rajat Sharma Ke Saath’ was launched just before the 2014 General Elections. Since its inception, the show is redefining India’s super-prime time and is numerically far ahead of its contemporaries.
