On terror, India has the support of the US and other countries. But it has to fight alone
What does it say about the Pakistani establishment when a Pakistani-based militant designated as a global terrorist by the US Department of State, gives an interview on television and threatens havoc against another countryIJ It establishes the complicity of Islamabad in the terror attacks that India has faced. Pakistani officials have been going around the world claiming to be the biggest victims of terror and to be cracking down hard on terror elements within their country. It's on this spurious basis that Pakistan has been able to garner the US's support, both military and economically, in recent years. But now it has become increasingly difficult for even the US to believe in Islamabad's claim of innocence. The State Department's declaration of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin as a global terrorist, hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump met at the White House, should have rung alarm bells in the Pakistani establishment, but it didn't. This is because the Pakistanis do not take the move seriously. After all, their relations with the US and the generous aid they receive from it in the name of fighting terrorism, remains in place. Besides, a ‘global terrorist' designation by the US State Department hardly has any impact on the activities of Salahuddin inside Pakistan. Not only has Islamabad been dismissive of the move but it has also done nothing to rein in the Hizbul chief. Contrarily, certain Pakistani political leaders have hailed the terrorist's stand. He is a ‘freedom-fighter' for the Pakistani establishment. It does not matter to them when he boasts that his group had “carried out operations outside Kashmir” in the past, as well as inside Kashmir. Islamabad is unfazed when Salahuddin says that “our focus is on occupational forces, their movements and installations”. There’s no way that the Hizbul chief could appear for a television interview and issue such brazen threats against India without the clearance of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence — if not from the elected Government of Nawaz Sharif, who, in any case, has become more of a puppet of his Army, especially after being on the blackfoot over Panama Papers leak.
The Pakistani establishment's conduct is also designed to keep a section of its domestic constituent happy. This group comprises Opposition politicians such as Imran Khan who generally sympathise with the militants and the hardliners outside the political system, including in the media. It's a hypocrisy the Pakistanis have indulged in for years: Abuse the US but gratefully accept its money. But it's possible that Washington, DC's patience may just be running out. Attempts have been made by some Congressmen to designation Pakistan a ‘state sponsor of terrorism'. This may not work, but the US under Donald trump may not be as generous in its approach as previous administrations had been. Trump is keen to offset contentious issues in the India-US ties — such as trade and H1-B visa — with concrete cooperation in the area of anti-terrorism. The joint statement issued after the Modi-Trump meeting did not mince words. But India should not depend on the US for everything; it must take its own steps.