Why Pakistan's assurance against Lashkar will not yield any result

Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan, promised in the United States of America that he would act against the Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT), a statement that has been criticized by the outfit.

While Sharif promised US President Barack Obama that he would act against the outfit, the Lashkar has said that it was nothing more than a statement to please New Delhi.

The big question is -- will Pakistan act against Lashkar? The biggest asset of the Lashkar is its boss, Hafiz Saeed and unless and until he is acted upon, there will be no real closure against the outfit.

For Pakistan Saeed is not the Lashkar chief:

To begin with, Pakistan does not accept Saeed to be the chief of the Lashkar. He is always referred to as the head of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and any reference to him and the Lashkar are strongly denied in Pakistan.

Both Pakistan and the Lashkar have also denied that the outfit has anything to do with the JuD.

The entire problem begins here. Saeed is the ideological mentor of the Lashkar and has been instrumental in swaying several youth into the fold of the outfit.

Before any major attack, the recruits often take his blessings in person and most terrorists including Ajmal Kasab have accepted that Hafiz Chacha (uncle) as he fondly referred to as is an inspirational figure.

The other person that the Lashkar relied heavily upon is Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the operations chief.

The manner in which the trial against him in the 26/11 attack case was handled is testimony of the fact that Pakistan is not one bit serious about acting against him.

In addition to this the name of Lakhvi who holds the title, "Imam of Jihad," is sufficient to send shivers down the spines of people.

This fear has resulted in judges opting out of hearing cases against him which has ensured that the trial has hit a road block.

No action against JuD:

The Lashkar survives on the JuD for its finances. The JuD has been called a charitable organization and any charge of linking it to terror financing have been denied outright by Pakistan.

To substantiate this, we need to look at the recent events in which it became amply clear that the ban on the JuD was nothing more than just a hogwash.

Pakistan has made it clear that there is no question of a ban on the JuD. It would only watch the organization for suspicious behaviour.

The JuD always work along with the Pakistan army and this acts as a great cover for them.

Following the 26/11 attack, investigators in India found the funding of the attack had been carried out by the JuD.

There was international pressure and this forced a ban on the JuD. In fact the then interior minister, Rehman Malik had informed that the JuD had been banned with immediate effect.

Although the statement sounded strong, Pakistan was not going to take any chances and directly confront the JuD.

It did not impose the ban directly but asked various authorities such as the UN to impose sanctions on the JuD.

Paksitan's eye wash was evident in the year 2008. It sealed 100 offices of the JuD and even Saeed was placed under house arrest only to be released later.

Pakistan then that there was no need to issue any notification banning the JuD when the UN has already added it to the list of banned outfits.

No messing with JuD:

When the JuD is in legal trouble, it is the top bureaucrats who draft a petition on its behalf. The Pakistan government has even appointed an administrator to oversee the affairs of the JuD.

The JuD has a sprawling campus at Murdike spread over 200 acres of land.

It has teaching facilities catering to 3000 students and also residential complexes. The investigations post 26/11 showed that the ten terrorists were housed in this complex and underwent training over here.

The funds according to investigators came in from Saudi Arabia right from 1998 and till date the majority of the funding is from there.

With the help of these funds the JuD has been accused of recruiting youth from Kashmir and Pakistan and train them to undertake strikes against India.

Further it has also been found that the JuD in a bid to attract possible recruits from southern Punjab also held camps in Kasur district.