‘Crush Paks jihadist Frankenstein infrastructure’

The co-architect of the US' Af-Pak strategy,Bruce Riedel,demanded a hard line response on Hafiz Saeed's acquittal.

Asking the Obama administration to take a “very hard line” on the release of JuD chief and “mastermind of the Mumbai massacre” Hafiz Mohammad Saeed,the co-architect of the US’ Af-Pak strategy demanded on Friday that “jihadist Frankenstein” infrastructure in Pakistan be crushed.

“I think the Administration should take a very hard line about the release of the mastermind of the Mumbai massacre and needs to be very clear with Pakistan that it cannot pursue a policy of selective counter-terrorism,” said Bruce O Riedel,a former CIA official who co-chaired the inter-agency committee which formulated the Af-Pak policy.

“Selective counter-terrorism is weak counter-terrorism. We can’t tolerate terrorists,who murder in Mumbai any more than we can’t tolerate terrorist who murder anywhere else in the world. Washington ought to make that position extremely clear in Islamabad,” he said in an interview.

Riedel’s remarks follow the Lahore High Court order releasing Saeed from house arrest on Tuesday last,nearly six months after he was detained in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.

Riedel said a very strong message” needs to be sent to the Pakistani government,army and especially its intelligence service that they should deal with terrorism firmly.

Observing that ISI continued to maintain links with LeT and JuD,he said that Pakistan was not taking enough steps to dismantle terrorist networks.

“I think,Pakistan has taken a few steps,but they are very small,and much more needs to be done. The entire infrastructure of the jihadist Frankenstein in Pakistan needs to be broken and dismantled,not just because that is in the interest of America and India,but because it is in the interest of Pakistan,” Reidel said.

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“Because if the jihadist Frankenstein in Pakistan is not dismantled and defeated there is a very real possibility that they would take over the State of Pakistan and that would be the end of Pakistani freedom,” he said replying to a query.

When asked how does the Obama administration plan to make Pakistan’s establishment be tough on anti-India terror elements,Riedel said “…the only way that we can get Pakistan to focus on the reality of the threat from within is by engagement — constant and consistent and enforceable.

“I think that we have to deal directly with the elected Pakistani leadership,starting with President (Asif Ali) Zardari and then all the aspects of the Pakistani State in a clear,consistent and enforceable way and make clear to them that the United States sees the creation of this jihadist infrastructure in Pakistan as a global security problem and a threat to Pakistan itself.

“There are really no other options. We can’t try to ignore the problem and we can’t try to coerce Pakistani behaviour. We tried those options before,but it did not work. The only option that would work is constant,consistent,hard and forceful engagement with a very tough and clear message,” he said.