Pathankot attack: India-Pakistan thwarted JeM’s goal

Islamabad, Jan 14: Mature response from governments of India and Pakistan appear to have thwarted the goal of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) after Pathankot attack, said an editorial in Pakistan's leading daily.

The editorial titled "Crackdown on JeM" appeared on the Dawn online said that mature political leadership on both sides of the border has prevented Pathankot attack from becoming a full-blown crisis.

Pakistan has pledged to investigate and act on any evidence found or shared on the involvement of Pakistani individuals in the Pathankot attack, said the daily.

After months of bitterness, India-Pakistan witnessed thaw in their relationship after PM Modi suddenly met his counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Paris and sudden visit to Lahore on way back to New Delhi from Kabul.

The Pathankot attack took place within a week of PM's visit to Pakistan.

It appears that Pakistan has taken steps to go ahead with the foreign secretary talks officially scheduled to begin on Jan 15.

Pakistan has reportedly arrested alleged members of JeM and sealed offices of the banned group.
The Pakistan government banned 25 religious and other organisations, including the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) in 2009.

"The PMO statement offers a clue - "offices of [JeM] are also being traced and sealed" -For too long, militant groups that have been banned by the state have simply changed their names or gone temporarily into hiding, only for them to reappear stronger and more resilient. In the case of JeM, the state's failures have been exceptionally egregious," said the daily.

"Until yesterday, when he was reportedly detained, Masood Azhar was a free man; other well-known leaders of the group apparently routinely roam the country preaching jihad.

It is fairly obvious that leaders of banned outfits publicly exhorting violence is likely to lead to some kind of disaster or crisis.

"Past experience suggests that JeM, like some other banned organisations, has access to sophisticated legal counsel which can help protect its operations and its leaders' freedom. This time JeM, and others like it, must be fully and permanently dismantled," added the daily.

OneIndia News