Indian intelligence agencies have decried the sham carried out by Pakistan, in putting 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed under house arrest to evade financial sanctions against the country and with the Lahore High Court paving way for his release on Wednesday.
Saeed was detained days before the plenary session of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – the global watchdog for combating terror financing – which was held in Paris in February 2017, where member-states voiced concern over Pakistan for not honouring its commitments to act against terror financing. The FATF members condemned Pakistan's actions and many members wanted Pakistan to be blacklisted for failing to act against terror financing of groups like Jama'at-ud-Da'wah (JuD) with Hafiz Saeed as its patron.
In October 2017, the FATF met again and let Pakistan off the hooks, after an intervention by China to save its “all-weather-friend.” The move by China gave Islamabad enough time to comply with the concerns raised by member nations, especially India.
The gravest concern for Pakistani authorities was the naming of State Bank of Pakistan (Pakistan's central bank) at the 2017 FATF Plenary in Argentina, for not regulating the flow of funds to the alleged terror financing groups. Given the fact that, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and JuD backed Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) – banned by UN – had bank accounts in Pakistani banks, the FATF had asked SBP to report to it in the next plenary session in February 2018, on actions taken to improve regulation over fund flows. The ban on Habib Bank by the US, for poor regulation over terror financing, also raised the concerns of Pakistani authorities, said an observer.
''It has become clear that Saeed's detention was Pakistan's desperate attempt to prevent any action being taken against it. Entering into the FATF blacklist meant ostracisation from the international banking system, where Pakistani financial institutions would come under cloud. It meant that no banking institution that banks with Pakistan would be allowed to bank with any other bank in the world,'' said a top intelligence official.
With the looming economic threat over the tag – ''sponsor of terror'' – drifting away, the JuD chief has been set free again, said the intelligence official who keeps a tab on the developments in Islamabad.
Saeed's house arrest was about to expire on November 24 and he is set to walk free after the High Court turned down a request by the government seeking an extension of his detention.
Indian intelligence agencies appears to be livid over the decision to release Saeed. Officials said the latest move has exposed Pakistan's double game. ''Not only did Islamabad send a message to the Trump administration in the United States that it was acting tough on terror perpetrators on its soil, it was also simultaneously making a desperate bid to save itself from entering the FATF blacklist, that imposed enhanced surveillance on the country's financial systems,'' they said.
It may be recalled that Pakistan had been put on the FATF blacklist after the 26/11 terror strikes, when investigations revealed that LeT had funded as well as orchestrated the terror strike with Saeed at its helm. But, the LeT and its alleged parent organisation JuD continued to operate freely on Pakistani soil, which prompted FATF to take action against Pakistan. In 2015, Pakistan was removed from the FATF blacklist, after Pakistan made commitments on multiple fronts.
On Wednesday, the review board under the chair of Justice Abdul Sami Khan passed orders to free Saeed, after a senior finance ministry official failed to convince the board that the release of Saeed would bring diplomatic and financial setbacks to the country.
During the last hearing, the Pakistan government had argued that Saeed could not be released because the move would result in financial sanctions and a halt in foreign funding to the country. In response, the board had directed the government to send an official from the finance ministry to explain how release of a single individual would affect the entire country.
Saeed will now be walking free, not only within a month after Pakistan's temporary victory in FATF but also four days ahead of the ninth anniversary of Mumbai terror strikes. It will be a grim reminder of the fact that no action has been taken by Pakistan against the perpetrators and financiers of terror who continue to roam freely on its soil. November 26 brings back horrific memories of Pakistan’s terror siege in Mumbai, where 166 people were killed.
