New Delhi: Islamabad recently sensitized Delhi about its progress towards Jamaat-ud-Dawa's (a frontline for Laskar-e-Taiba) ban and fate of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the main suspect of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
During the string of under-the-radar meetings that national security adviser AK Doval held with Pakistan High commissioner to India Abdul Basit, it was told by Pakistan that it is working towards ban on Jamaat-ud-Dawa, however, it said that “the fate of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi was entirely for the court to decide”.
According to a report published in Hindustan Times, a Pakistan official involved in the negotiation process told the daily, “We are trying to ban the JuD because it was placed on the list of banned organizations by the UN soon after the Mumbai attacks in 2008.”
It was further learnt that when foreign secretary S Jaishankar will travel to Islamabad in March as part of his SAARC Yatra, he is expected to take forward the discussions on concerns flagged by Doval and Basit.
Through this recent statement from Pakistan, it is speculated that Pakistan wants India to be prepared in case Lashkar commander walks free if courts decide in his favor.
One of the official said, “Hafiz Saeed was set free through the courts and the same may happen with Lakhvi.” He also added that the prosecution is trying its best but it is for the courts to take a final call based on evidence.
Apparently, bail for Lakhvi will complicate the dialogue process between India and Pakistan. India had called off foreign secretary-level talks in August after Basit met Kashmiri separatists over-looking the request by New Delhi.
However, Pakistan told India in turn that it can't give up to engage with the Hurriyat Conference as it is the “representative of the Kashmiri people”. It also added that India had been hasty in blaming Pak wrongly on the “suspected terror boat” incident that occurred on the night of December 31st.
