Question : BAN ON TERRORIST ORGANISATIONS

(a) whether the Government had impressed upon US, UK, EU, China, Japan and other powers to press upon Pakistan to ban the militant groups operating from Pakistan with ISI back-up and to take other steps to crack down on the ISI backed militants in the context of attack on Parliament;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) their reaction thereto;

(d) whether certain Pakistani terrorist group have been defying ban imposed upon them by changing their names and moving offices out of Pakistan; and

(e) if so, the Government`s reaction thereto?

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI OMAR ABDULLAH)


(a)-(e) Government have on several occasions, appropriately and effectively, brought to the attention of the international community facts pertaining to Pakistan`s sponsorship of cross border terrorism. The issue has also been raised during high level interactions with world leaders. There is widespread international support for India`s strong determination to resist terrorism until it is decisively crushed. The consensus in the international community is that there is no justification for terrorism, which must be eradicated wherever it exists.

Following investigations into the terrorist attack against India`s Parliament on December 13, evidence pertaining to the involvement of the Lashkar e Tayyaba and Jaish e Mohammad, two Pakistan based groups with close linkages with Pakistan`s intelligence agencies, was also shared with some countries. Both these groups now figure on the list of banned organizations in some countries. The President of Pakistan, in his address to the Pakistan nation on January 12, also announced that he would ban the Lashkar e Tayyaba and the Jaish e Mohammed and stated that Pakistan would not allow its territory to be used for terrorism anywhere in the world.

It has, however, become increasingly clear that Pakistan while publicly professing support to the international campaign against terrorism, has been taking steps to continue its own policy of sponsoring cross border terrorism in India. The changing of names of well known terrorist organizations, or the re-location of the offices of these groups in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir, are just some of the futile measures Pakistan is undertaking in this regard.