Pak's inaction against 26/11 attackers froze Indo-Pak talks:US

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Aug 5 (PTI) Pakistan's lacklustre approach
to bring to justice the 26/11 perpetrators has basically
frozen Indo-Pak peace talks, an official US report said
Thursday, which also warned that the LeT remained a serious
threat to Western interests.
US State Department's annual 'Country Reports on
Terrorism for the year 2009' said the Lashkar-e-Taiba, said
Pakistan's FATA and northwest continues to be a "safe haven"
for Al-Qaeda and Afghan insurgents.
Expressing concern over the lackluster approach of
Pakistani authorities to bring to justice the perpetrators of
the Mumbai terrorist attacks, it said the LeT which executed
the deadly attacks remains a "serious threat" to western
interests.
"In response to allegations of involvement by LeT in
the Mumbai attacks, Pakistani officials cracked down on an LeT
camp in Muzzafarabad and arrested or detained more than 50 LeT
or JUD leaders in Punjab and elsewhere in Pakistan, but it
subsequently released many of them. LeT remained a serious
threat to Western interests," the report released Thursday
said.
"Pakistani officials pledged to prosecute all
individuals in Pakistan found to be involved in the Mumbai
attacks and offered to share intelligence regarding the
attacks with the Government of India. At year's end, however,
peace talks between Pakistan and India remained frozen amid
Indian allegations that Pakistan was not doing enough to bring
the terrorists to justice," the report said.
It said: "The Federally Administered Tribal Areas
(FATA), Baluchistan, the North West Frontier Province,
southern Punjab, and other parts of Pakistan continued to be
used as safe havens for Al-Qaeda terrorists, Afghan
insurgents, and other terrorist groups."
The US alleged that unlicensed informal hawalas (money
changers) still operated illegally in parts of Pakistan.
"The informal and secretive nature of the unlicensed
hawalas made it difficult for regulators to effectively combat
their operations. Most illicit funds were moved through
unlicensed operators, including through bulk cash smuggling,"
it said.
The State Department said, foreign terrorist
organisations, including Al-Qaeda (AQ) and its affiliates,
continued to operate and carry out attacks in Pakistan.
Violence stemming from Sunni-Shia sectarian strife and
ethnic tensions, limited to certain geographical areas,
claimed civilian lives.
Similar to last year, attacks occurred with greatest
frequency in the regions bordering Afghanistan, including
Baluchistan, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA),
and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). (More) PTI LKJ
RDM


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