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There may not be any comparison between the citizens of Pakistan and the developed Western world as far as their overall living conditions are concerned. But they have at least one thing in common today: their rulers share a common perception that some militant Islamists are not as harmful as others; and, in the process, their governments are aiding , directly or indirectly, terrorism which harms the ordinary mortals most .

The fanatic ideology of hatred and violence against humanity is shared in common by radical Islamists of all hues — Wahabbism—Deoband seminary, Tablighi Jamaat, Ahle Hadith and the Jamaat-e-Islami. The  Punjabi Taliban is deeply linked to major terror attacks, including on  Shias, Ahmadis and Christians, in Pakistan. But Islamabad’s current war on terror is directed only against a select group of militant Islamists—the Haqqani Network and safe havens of al-Qaida and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.

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Knowledgeable sources confirm Islamabad continues to gloss over the activities of the anti-India Punjabi Taliban:  Laskar-e-Taiba (LeT) aka Jamaat-ul-Dawa (JuD), Jaish-e Muhammad (JeM) , the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), the Sipah-e-Sahaba and others . Patronized  by some leading Pakistani politicians,  LeT chief and 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed ( his citadel in Muridke) and his deputy Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki still roam freely in Pakistan .

The notorious 26/11 planner Zaki-ur Lakhvi is enjoying VIP treatment in prison.  Islamabad has recently released anti-Shia Lashkar-e-Jhangvi head Malik Ishaq . It has also taken little action against   Lal Masjid complex ideologue Maulana Abdul Aziz (he has evaded even to condemn the recent killing of school children in Peshawar). The hijacker of an Indian flight (IC-814) and Parliament attack mastermind Masood Azhar controls Bahawalpur. And so on.

The sources say elements in Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) are still fully helping terrorists against India. Efforts are being made from across the Line of Control to push terrorists armed with highly sophisticated weapons into the Indian side. The radicalised elements exist within Pakistan’s military, civil and judicial establishments. The Tableeghi Jamaat headquarters in Raiwind adjoin  Sharif’s family estate. Then Pakistani military dictator Zia-ul-Haq encouraged the Tableeghis to shape Pakistan’s military into “an army of Allah”. Several top-level officers and chiefs of the ISI  have been its members ( remember Lt.Gen. Hameed Gul and Lt. Gen. Javed Nasir ). A radicalised group of Army and ISI officers of the “313 brigade” was run by LeT militant Ilyas Kashmiri , killed in a drone attack in 2 011.

A Pakistan expert says everyone knows the background of Prime Minister Sharif. He is unlikely to take on extremists.   Sharif has been maintaining a distance from the ongoing army operation in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas).  Chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Imran Khan has shown sympathies for the Taliban and other extremism on various occasions.  His party runs  government in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province where the Taliban extremist movement has its umbilical cord.

I find Washington and its allies in the West have had a somewhat similar approach towards militant Islamists though they have of late appeared tougher on dealing with some of the anti-India Islamist terrorists . Once former American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had cautioned Islamabad saying, “you cannot keep snakes in your backyard and expect them to bite only your neighbours.” But Washington and allies , too, have been practicing the same formula while appeasing certain Islamist elements in Pakistan and the Middle East.

The sources say Washington and allies do not seem to be really tough with those elements in the Pakistan’s Army and Intelligence which have been aligned with the terrorists. In 2011 even then American Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen described the Haqqani group as “a veritable arm of the ISI. ” But Washington has continued to look the other way.

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Jagdish N. Singh is an Indian journalist based in New Delhi.