In America, there is turmoil after Donald Trump banned travel of people from 7 Muslim countries to the USA. There are protests at the airports but everything has a flip side. This ban has scared Pakistan, which has for long been accused of being a sponsor of terror groups. In particular, Hafiz Saeed (the chief of the Jamaat-UDawa) was allowed to live his life under government patronage despite having a reward of $10 million on his head. He is accused by India of many terror attacks, including the Mumbai carnage on November 26th.
Fearing action by the Trump administration the Pakistan government yesterday acted against Hafiz.
He was surrounded by the Punjab police while he was addressing a meeting and put under house arrest. The Nawaz Sharif government was accused of buckling to US pressure by the opposition. The fact is that Trump has not yet turned his attention to Pakistan remains, yet the fear of the US president as a man who does what he says scared the Pak government and it wanted to show Donald that they are taking steps against terror groups and individuals. There is news that Trump may add Pakistan as the 8th nation on the list, and this fear is the motivating factor in arresting Hafiz.
Pakistan and terror
Pakistan for long has been flirting with terror groups. It supported the Haqqani faction of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the group murdered many people, including US soldiers.
It also gave a safe haven to Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Omar. Though the Pak government denies it, the fact is that a terrorist cannot be holed up in a country for years without the concerned people knowing it. This double policy of hunting with the hound and running with the hare has led to many terror attacks in Pakistan.
So far Pakistan was treated with kid gloves by the Obama administration, but perhaps now this will end as Donald has declared an all-out war on terror groups.
Donald's effect
The arrest is perhaps just a cover-up, as Hafiz has been arrested many times and then released, with intervention from the courts. But now, things are likely to be different, as the man heading the US administration has a clear idea of global terror. One may or may not agree with his ban, but the effect on Pakistan seems to be a positive one.
