London: Evidence emerging from dossiers and open-source material paints a troubling picture of Pakistan’s relationship with internationally designated terrorist organisations.
Far from isolated incidents, the findings suggest a coherent model of state patronage, where tolerance, political cover, and material support function as mechanisms to “sanitise” violence.
DefenceNet reported that the boundary between the state and groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) is not blurred by accident but systematically managed.
Leadership, infrastructure, and mobilisation activities of these groups continue openly despite UN sanctions, reflecting a strategy designed to keep armed networks operational while shielding them from international accountability.
One striking example, according to the report, is the reconstruction of the Markaz Syedna Bilal complex in Muzaffarabad (PoK).
Previously identified as a JeM training facility and targeted during Operation Sindoor, the site was rebuilt as a state-backed project.
In October 2025, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon, along with senior officials and political leaders, publicly visited the facility—an act described as a political statement of rehabilitation rather than counterterrorism.
DefenceNet also highlighted the institutionalisation of ideological indoctrination. The seven-day Daura-e-Tarbiyah seminars in Quetta, presented as “educational programs,” are in reality structured radicalisation stages preceding militant training.
From 5-12 December 2025, JeM organised such a camp at Saryab Road and Jama Masjid “Afzal Guru Shaheed”, openly advertised and conducted without state intervention. Political legitimisation of armed networks is another dimension.
The Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), widely seen as LeT’s political front, contested the 2024 general elections and continued public activities in 2025.
According to the report, senior LeT figures, including Hafiz Talha Saeed, openly participated in PMML meetings despite US and UN sanctions. Public rallies further expose this normalisation.
On 14 September 2025, JeM leader Masood Ilyas Kashmiri glorified Osama bin Laden at a gathering in Mansehra, while in Karachi, Talha Saeed led a march under visible police protection. Even when permits are officially denied, such events proceed, underscoring the gap between paper restrictions and ground realities.
The report stressed that Pakistan’s role extends beyond domestic networks. Strategic ties with Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Malaysia, and Indonesia have created a triangular politico-military framework linking South and Southeast Asia.
The report warned that this normalisation of Pakistan as a security partner, despite its extremist links, directly impacts Europe, China, and the United States – fuelling radicalisation, destabilising trade corridors, and undermining deterrence strategies.
The comparison with Abdullah Ocalan’s case, the report said, highlights the contrast; while Turkey severed ties with terrorism through arrest and trial, Pakistan integrates and repackages armed networks into political and social structures.
The result is violence institutionalised as a method, with consequences that extend far beyond South Asia.
(IANS)
