The Big Story: Trial and terror

It is not clear what prompted Pakistan to place Jama’at ud-Dawa chief and Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed under house arrest. In a video released shortly before his arrest, Saeed blamed the bonhomie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Donald Trump, saying he was being targeted for his advocacy of the Kashmir issue. Pakistani officials have reportedly admitted that US pressure, including Trump’s recent immigration ban on seven Muslim countries and talk of similar action against Pakistan, was a factor behind the move.

Leaving aside the possibility that Trump’s unconscionable ban did play a part in the move, this moment could open a narrow window of opportunity for India-Pakistan ties. The free rein given to Saeed in Pakistan has long been a sticking point between the two countries. The Lashkar founder is believed to be the mastermind behind the 26/11 attack in Mumbai, which killed 166 people. In the eight years since, most of the energies of the bilateral relationship have been spent debating how the guilty must be brought to account. India made cross-border terror the centrepiece of talks with its neighbour, sharing evidence, demanding arrests and that Saeed be handed over. Pakistan, for its part, placed Saeed under house arrest for brief periods in 2009. But in October that year, the Lahore High Court quashed two terror cases against him, setting him free and pronouncing that the Jama’at ud-Dawa was not a terror outfit. So the current government order against him will mean little unless Pakistan builds on it and puts him through the paces of justice.

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The two neighbours now have a sensitive task at hand – to take ownership of the current moment rather than acting under the auspices of the Trump administration, to work towards justice for the victims of 26/11, to disentangle cross-border terror from the complex political issue of Kashmir. At a time when the US grows increasingly vicious in its rhetoric and policies, the subcontinent could show the way to tackle terror – without criminalising entire nations and minorities, without hate and jingoism. The question is, are India and Pakistan up to the task?

The Big Scroll: Scroll.in on the day’s big story

Kumar Sundaram points out that it is not just Trump, India-Pakistan tensions have also helped push the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight.

Kalbe Ali meets the Jama’at-ud Dawa cyber team.

Political pickings

  1. Minister of State Giriraj Singh has now backed the attacks on Padmavati filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, saying the film took liberties with the story of Rani Padmini because she was a Hindu, and that those who “play” with history should be “punished”.
  2. The Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh moved to bury cases against 19 political leaders, investigations find.
  3. After banning immigration from seven Muslim countries, the Trump’s White House reportedly plans to target skilled foreign workers.
  4. In his first major election rally in Uttar Pradesh, Adityanath, a member of Parliament for the Bharatiya Janata Party, tells crowds to “remember the riots and rapes” when they go out to vote.

Punditry

  1. In the Indian Express, Manish Sabharwal argues that Trump’s economic nationalism should prompt India to fix its land and labour markets.
  2. In the Hindu, G Sampath takes a long, hard look at the growing clamour for universal basic incomes.
  3. In the Telegraph, Prabhat Patnaik points out that demonetisation has been no more than a pin prick on black money.

Giggles

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Mridula Chari reports on a “rescue operation” conducted by men claiming to be police officials in Nagpur. Their target: two Adivasi women who alleged they had been raped by security forces in Gadchiroli.

“The so-called rescue in Nagpur has its roots in an incident on January 20, when two Adivasi women were travelling from Gonawara village in Chhattisgarh’s district of Kanker to visit relatives across the state border in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra. That afternoon, they alleged, commandos belonging to the C-60 battalion detained them overnight.”