Islamabad: British diplomats have met senior Pakistani officials to convince them to crack down on Jamat ud Dawa (JuD), the charity wing of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant group, on India’s insistence.
India had earlier blamed the LeT for the 2008 attacks on landmarks in Mumbai.
The Express Tribune quoted knowledgeable diplomats as saying that diplomats at the British missions in Islamabad and New Delhi had successful rounds of talks with Pakistani leaders in the last week of July.
They added that these talks might lead to the detention of JuD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and a possible crackdown on his group.
Britain, which is home to a sizeable population of immigrants from South Asia, including Pakistan, has been facing threats from homegrown militants. The British government has reservations about the JuD activities and the Punjab government’s alleged ‘soft corner’ for outlawed extremist groups, such as Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).
Diplomats also suggested that the British government hopes to convince Pakistan to address India’s concerns about Hafiz Saeed and restrict the activities of his group in Pakistan, and in the Indian territory of Kashmir.
Although Indo-Pak talks have begun, India says Islamabad must bring the ‘perpetrators’ of the Mumbai attacks to justice if talks are to succeed.
ANI
First Published: Monday, August 08, 2011, 12:53