Pak terror groups threat to all nations: PC

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday asked Islamabad’s “friends”, particularly the US and the UK to persuade it to close terror malls operating on the Pakistani soil. Home minister P Chidambaram, who gave vent to New Delhi’s irritation with Washington’s approach to terrorism emanating from Pakistan, said that no country will be safe if stern action was not taken against groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba.

“No country is truly safe.... Don’t think that India alone is under threat. Every country is under threat from these groups and the Lashkar-e-Taiba today is like the al-Qaeda, a multi-country group.” That Lashkar has emerged as an important member of a global jihadi network is being conceded by the US.

In an interview to the BBC, Mr Chidambaram said it would be “naive” for Western countries to think that only India faces the threat from Pakistan-based terrorists. “Once you allow these terror groups to train, recruit and be able to build capacity to strike, they can strike in India, they can strike in UK, they can strike in Denmark as they were planning out of the Karachi Project,” he said.

The home minister also said that the civilian government in Pakistan has not moved towards reining in the ISI or the terror groups that are backed by it. “If there is a truly civilian government in Pakistan which can rein in the ISI and direct the army and the ISI to move in and dismantle their terror infrastructure. The camps must be closed. Training must come to an end,” he said.

To a question whether he has seen any movement in that direction in Pakistan, Mr Chidambaram replied in the negative. “Nothing so far,” he said. Asked what could persuade Pakistan to do that, he said, “the UK, the US know the answer to that question better. Certainly, we have not been able to persuade Pakistan. It is Pakistan’s friends, mutual friends, who would have to bring pressure on Pakistan.”

On the Pune attack, the minister said there were intelligence reports about jihadis targeting the town. “Pune was a case where it slipped through the cracks. Pune was a target. There was specific intelligence shared by the Central government with the Maharashtra police and the government. The area, Koregaon park, was under a security cover.

Advisory was given to German Bakery and its manager’s acknowledged the advisory on every single occasion but they did nothing. They did not even take the minimum security precautions. So, it is an unfortunate case that I would say slipped through the cracks. As I said in Parliament, it’s a blot. But the lesson is that when there is intelligence, pointed intelligence and advisories are issued, people must cooperate. Shops, establishments, hotels, malls must take minimal security precautions,” he said.