THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- October 17, 2017- Topic 2

Flip-flop on terror: On Hafiz Saeed

Pakistan’s decision to withdraw terror charges against Hafiz Saeed, chief of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa/Lashkar-e-Toiba, is an outrage, and calls into question its professed seriousness to address terrorist violence emanating from its territory. Saeed, the mastermind of the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, had been detained by the Punjab provincial government in January this year under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). 

But last week the government said it was not including charges of terrorism in a new order for his detention. He is still in detention under the milder Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance and under which bail is obtainable. Saeed’s house arrest this year appeared to have been prompted by a tough message from the U.S. government; it was also effected to avoid sanctions by the UN’s body on terror funding, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which has been conducting a review of Pakistan’s actions this year. The fact is that since 2002, when the LeT was first designated a terror group by the UN Security Council’s Taliban/al-Qaeda sanctions committee, Pakistan has done very little to hold Saeed to account, which is a sign of the immense power he wields given the LeT/JuD’s reach and its role in the intelligence agencies’ operations. Despite all the evidence and testimonies detailing Saeed’s visits to the 26/11 terror training camps, his instructions during the attacks, and his call for violent attacks in India, the Pakistani government has allowed, if not enabled, him to build a virtual citadel in the town of Muridke near the provincial capital Lahore.

Oddly enough, it was only a few weeks ago that Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif held that Saeed was a “liability”. It may, therefore, be no coincidence that the terror charges were dropped at a time when the U.S. President has openly praised Pakistan for cooperating in the release of American hostages. Also, the U.S. and Afghanistan have only just revived talks with Pakistan on reining in the Taliban. Regardless of the reasons, if Pakistan doesn’t take steps to reverse this latest move on Saeed, it will be seen as an open challenge to India, the U.S. and the international community. While the UN has strict sanctions on Saeed, the U.S. too has designated him a terrorist, with a $10 million bounty, for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in which American citizens too were killed. This is, in essence, a test of U.S. President Donald Trump’s new South Asia policy, in which he has vowed reprisals if Pakistan fails to take action against all terror groups on its territory, not just those targeting the U.S. in Afghanistan. If India’s persistent endeavour to bring Saeed to justice for his role in the Mumbai attacks continues to fall on deaf ears in Pakistan, then all the international declarations on terrorism will carry little weight. The next round of the FATF, which is due at the end of this month, must be used to send a tough message to Pakistan.

Vocabulary

Outrage: an extremely strong reaction of anger, shock, or indignation.

Example: Her voice trembled with outrage

Synonyms: indignation, fury, anger, rage, disapproval, wrath, resentment

Emanating: issue or spread out from (a source).

Example: Warmth emanated from the fireplace

Synonyms: originate, stem, derive, proceed, spring, issue, emerge, flow, come

Detained: keep (someone) in official custody, typically for questioning about a crime or in politically sensitive situations.

Example: She was detained without trial for two years

Synonyms: hold, take into custody, take (in), confine, imprison, lock up

Detention: the action of detaining someone or the state of being detained in official custody, especially as a political prisoner.

Example: One of the effects of police detention is isolation from friends and family

Synonyms: custody, imprisonment, confinement, incarceration, internment

Obtainable: able to be obtained.

Example: Customers' financial details are easily obtainable

Synonyms: available, to be had, in circulation, on the market, in season

Immense: extremely large or great, especially in scale or degree.

Example: The cost of restoration has been immense

Synonyms: huge, vast, massive, enormous, gigantic, colossal, great

Citadel: a fortress, typically on high ground, protecting or dominating a city.

Example: Peter's army stormed the citadel and sacked the city, killing several thousand inhabitants and local Byzantine troops.

Synonyms: fortress, fort, stronghold, fortification, castle, hold

Hostage: a person seized or held as security for the fulfillment of a condition.

Example: The kidnapper had instructed the hostage's family to drop the ransom at noon

Synonyms: captive, prisoner, inmate, detainee, internee, victim

Rein: check or guide by pulling on its reins.

Example: He reined in his horse and waited for her

Bounty: generosity; liberality.

Example: For millennia the people along the Nile have depended entirely on its bounty

Persistent: continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.

Example: One of the government's most persistent critics

Synonyms: tenacious, persevering, determined, resolute, purposeful

Endeavour: an attempt to achieve a goal.

Example: An endeavor to reduce serious injury

Synonyms: attempt, try, bid, effort, venture, go, crack, shot, stab, essay