There cannot be a bigger falsehood than Pakistan’s claim to the the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that the international terrorist Masoor Azhar and his family are ‘missing’ (Front page, “Masood Azhar & family missing, Pak. tells financial watchdog FATF,” Feb. 16). The international community, hopefully, has not forgotten Islamabad’s denials of Osama bin Laden’s presence in the country, later proved to be false when the 9/11 mastermind was found to be hiding in an Abbottabad mansion located near a military academy. Pakistan’s assertions will not find many takers this time among observers.
K. Vijayaraghavan,
Hyderabad
Not long ago, Pakistan was feigning ignorance on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, saying he might be in Afghanistan. But the U.S. Navy SEALS operation in 2011 left Islamabad red-faced. Similarly, Islamabad’s assertion that Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and his family are missing is nothing but spinning wool over the eyes of the FATF and the United Nations. Pakistan is currently unable to take firm stern measures to contain terror outfits. It won’t be surprising if, in the near future, Azhar surfaces and Pakistan is forced to manufacture reasons that are hard to believe.
S. Arjun Prasanna,
Bengaluru
Pakistan has taken no real action against any of the terror networks and terrorists operating from its soil. The country is not willing to give up its confrontational attitude over Kashmir and needs the support of the likes of Azhar. It won’t be surprising if, after the fear of blacklisting by the FATF is warded off, the deep state there prevails upon the judiciary to get the recently convicted Jamaat-ud-Dawa leader Hafiz Saeed freed.
S.S. Paul,
Chakdaha, Nadia, West Bengal
The new CCTV footage that shows policemen thrashing Jamia Millia Islamia students at the university’s Old Reading Hall makes it clear that Delhi police were given a free hand to use force while dealing with the students. Just days later, members of the same law enforcement department were seen standing outside the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s campus as masked goons beat up students and teachers of the University. The incidents raised troubling questions on the functioning of the Home Ministry.
The Delhi police has, for long, been known to use force to silence innocent voices. But, for the first time, they have resorted to entering university spaces and even libraries to show their heavy-handedness on unarmed students. Some videos also raise questions on whether it was people from the Delhi police who burnt buses and vandalised property. The police brutality over the last few months has led to several students being injured and admitted to hospitals, with one of them even losing sight in an eye.
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that the Delhi Police has now become the personal bouncer of the Central Home Ministry, with no ethics, morals or code of conduct.
Sahishnu Narayan Panigrahi,
Bhubaneswar
