Will U.S. brand LeT, JeM terrorist outfits?

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, OCT. 4. Though it is only now that the White House and the U.S. State Department are working on expanding an earlier executive order listing 27 terrorist organisations, entities and individuals directly linked to the Saudi dissident, Osama bin Laden, and his Al-Qaeda network, the successive Governments in Washington were not exactly unaware of what was going on in Jammu and Kashmir. Or, for that matter, the role of Pakistan in the mess, in spite of all the denials and protestations of Islamabad.

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, the U.S. has made it amply clear that nations are either on the side of the free world in the campaign against terror or on the side of the terrorists. Nations like Pakistan which found it fashionable to make a distinction between terrorists and ``freedom fighters'' were bluntly told that there were no ``grey areas.''

Both Mr. Brajesh Mishra, National Security Adviser, and the External Affairs and Defence Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, told the top officials here that while New Delhi understood the short- term compulsions of the global campaign against terrorism, it was seeking to draw Washington's attention to the larger perspective as well. This had to do not merely with fighting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir after the first phase was over but in understanding the roots, links and connections between the terror outfits and the kind of official support these groups were deriving.

Mr. Jaswant Singh, in particular, had the opportunity to present India's case directly to the U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, who, according to all accounts, was quite aware of the ground realities in Jammu and Kashmir, including the latest attack on the State Assembly in Srinagar. In spite of all the pre- occupations and the political compulsions of the administration, it is believed that a careful watch is being kept on Pakistan, including on the terrorism front.

The Indian officials and diplomats have been urging the U.S. administration to crack down on at least some of the known terror elements in Jammu and Kashmir. For now, the State Department has only the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in its list of 30 foreign terrorist organisations - a compilation which is updated every two years and mandated by Congress. Right now the attention is on whether the Bush administration will add the Lakshar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e- Mohammad to the list. The two outfits get extra prominence in the wake of the car bomb attack in Srinagar.

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Section  : International
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