Fight against terror to go waste if ‘banned outfits’ not smashed for good: Editorial

ISLAMABAD - An editorial in a leading Pakistani daily has said that if the country wants to be successful in its fight against terrorism it should pull out terror outfits, including Jamaat-ud-Daawa (JuD), which are carrying out relief efforts in flood-hit regions of the country.

“The government should get to these areas, catch them and put them away for good as soon as possible,” editorial in the Daily Times.

“The whole fight against terrorism can go to waste if these banned outfits are not stopped from operating on our soil without fear or obstacle,” it added.

The editorial also downplayed Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s statement that the outfits “are not allowed to visit flood-hit areas”.

“We would like to remind Malik that members of the banned outfits are already providing relief in some flood-hit areas and since the government has not been able to reach those areas as yet, how will it stop them from operating there?” it added.

It follows the warning issued by the United Nations that militants could take advantage of the country’s worst humanitarian disaster by operating among its displaced victims.

“We all hope that militants will not take advantage of the circumstances to score points by exploiting people driven from their homes by the floods,” said Jean-Maurice Ripert, UN Special Envoy for Assistance to Pakistan.

“The people’s misery can always be exploited by those who have political or militant aims,” he added.

According to reports, the banned terror group Jamaat-ud-Daawa (JuD), under its latest humanitarian face Falah-e-Insaniat, is running relief camps in the flood-hit north western part of the country and providing the victims food, medicines and money.

While the Pakistan government has been struggling to collect funds for the flood-victims, the JuD, which masterminded the November 2008 Mumbai carnage, claimed that it raises 120 million rupees daily, which is equal to the total amount the Prime Minister relief fund has with it.

Over 1,600 people have been killed and 20 million affected as raging floodwaters continue to wreak havoc in the country.

In addition to causing major human loses, it has destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, washed away crops and livestock.

The United Nations says that Pakistan will need billions of dollars to recover from the deluge, which is being described as the worst in the last 80 years. (ANI)