Hafiz Saeed, 26/11 mastermind, it seems has outgrown Pakistan
The problem of providing sanctuary to a terror mastermind is that there is an inherent risk that the individual will outgrow the system, and ultimately become more of a liability than an asset.
Nurturing terror masterminds to use against India has been the mainstay of its policy to deal with India. That such policies have proved to be counterproductive for Pakistan is for everyone to see. And as time goes on, the cost of nurtuting these elements will ultimately trump the benefits, as Pakistan may be witnessing right now.
Hafiz Saeed has been supported overtly and covertly by the Pakistani establishment and he has gained stature, power and sway. So much so that in his current avatar, he may prove to be a burden that the Pakistan state cannot shake off, even if it wishes to.
If you are in Pakistan and be a part of the civil or the military administration, you are probably starting to stare at a scenario where Hafiz Saeed cannot be done away with.
Despite all the recent noises being made about "controlling" Hafiz Saeed and his activities, it seems like another round of eyewash, like many others before it.
On January 30 this year, Hafiz Saeed was “house-arrested” under Section 11-EEE(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1977, and asked to live in his luxurious Al Qadisiya headquarters and then shifted to the even more comfortable and safer environs of Johar Town in Lahore.
Why this exercise?
Did Pakistan get scared that US President Donald Trump may put it in the blacklist of countries in the International Cooperative Review Group, or impose trade sanctions?
Well, no. Heard through the grapevine, Saeed was asked to accept security against "planned attacks funded by India". May be even that was an eyewash, most probably it was China that wanted Saeed out of public life for a while, even as it worked towards getting India into the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) fold. Beijing might have thought that Saeed's uncensored diatribes against India might jeopardise its diplomatic attempts.
This was similar to when former president Pervez Musharraf asked him to stay put for a while. Saeed has come a long way since then — his NGO Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) is the largest in Pakistan, it is a different matter that it has been declared a terror front by the US.
Saeed has attained power beyond what is normal — when he appeared in court recently, it was probably the first time in a long, long time. The Karachi headquarters of the JuD sits on a sprawling 2.5 acre, gated, heavily guarded campus.
The FIF runs around three dozen operations across Pakistan — all legal — hospitals, dispensaries, ambulance services, medical camps, water projects, blood banks, distribution of clothes, blankets and bedding, prisoners’ programmes, technical courses to name a few.
When a small Hindu community was facing water crisis, the FIF was there, digging wells in the arid Tharparkar desert. It provided drinking water in the troubled Balochistan districts. They are there whenever a humanitarian effort is needed, be it flood, earthquake, even accidents. With over 2 lakh volunteers at his disposal, Saeed has subtly sent a message — he could run Pakistan better than its civilian government.
Ajmal Kasab had said that Saeed was the mastermind behind 26/11. Of course, Pakistan dismissed it, but the UN declared the LeT a terrorist organisation.
Saeed showed that he understands the system in Pakistan and his connections ensured that the LeT was quickly renamed to Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The Lahore High Court promptly bought the idea that the JuD was squeaky clean because there was no evidence or compalints against it. This, once again showed how far Pakistan could go to accomodate Hafiz Saeed.
Since then, the JuD has been linked to more than a few attacks in India, including the Uri attack, but we shall not be seeing any action against Saeed anytime soon because he has grown too big — he heads an efficient organisation and is not dependent on the Pakistani authorities — be it the civilian government or the powerful army for fundings.
His confidence of taking on India, and sometimes even the government of Pakistan, originates from his organisation — the public sees him as someone who is not afraid of a much bigger India and at a time when politicians hardly deliver in Pakistan — the common men somehow believe that he will deliver Kashmir to Pakistan.