What if on Sept. 13, 2001, the U.S. had granted bail to a terrorist leader known for directing gruesome attacks that left 166 innocents dead six years before? Would the rest of the world have remained in solidarity with the U.S. during its time of mourning over the 9/11 attacks? Doubtful.
Pakistanis might want to ponder what today’s granting of bail to terrorist mastermind and operational commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi means for not only their fight against terrorism but also their future within the comity of nations.
One day after Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared there is no such thing as “good” or “bad” Taliban, Pakistan’s Anti-terrorism Court (ATC) decision has renewed concern that the country is continuing its double game on terrorism—fighting some terrorists (Pakistani Taliban), while harboring others (today LeT, but also the Haqqani network and Afghan Taliban).
Fortunately, many Pakistanis disagree with the decision to grant bail to Lakhvi and have taken to social media to express their anger over the decision. Under the Twitter hashtag #PakwithIndiaNotoLakhviBail, Pakistanis are tweeting calls for a reversal of the ATC decision.
Prominent Pakistani commentators are also bravely pleading with their leaders to end the dual policy toward terrorists: “LeT cannot be poison just for Delhi and a potion in Lahore,” says journalist Mohammad Taqi in today’s Daily Times.
The decision to grant bail to Lakhvi demonstrates Pakistan may be stubbornly holding on to a failed and dangerous policy, which an editorial in yesterday’s New York Times described this way:
Wedded to an outmoded vision of India as the mortal enemy, the army has long played a double-game, taking American aid while supporting and exploiting various Taliban groups as a hedge against India and Afghanistan, and ignoring the perils that the militants have come to pose to Pakistan itself.
Such stubbornness will cause Pakistan to lose the fight against the terrorists as well as the empathy of the international community. The Pakistan government must appeal the ATC decision and send Lakhvi back to prison.