By Afshain Afzal

The World Report 2025: Pakistan highlights, “Pakistan law enforcement agencies were responsible for grave human rights violations, including detention without charge and extrajudicial killings. In July, the authorities detained hundreds of people in response to the Baloch National Gathering, a march seeking to raise awareness of human rights concerns in Balochistan.” It took decades of efforts to bring out from Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list; three times in 2008, 2012, and 2018. Each time, the designation was due to concerns about Pakistan's Anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) framework but Islamabad has preferred to go for all out operations against suspected Baloch nationals and others tribal to tarnish the image of Pakistan.

In a recent development, US Secretary of State Mr Marco Rubio issued press statement on 17 July 2025, that the US Department of State has reviewed and maintained the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation of Lashkar-e-Tayyiaba (LeT) and The Resistance Front (TRF) and other associated aliases have been added to LeT designation as a FTO and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). There is no doubt that Pakistan has played a major role in this achievement, which can also be verified from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Press Release dated 18 July 2025. MoFA Press Release said, “Any linkage with LeT, a defungt organization banned in Pakistan belies ground realities. Pakistan as been effectively and comprehensively dismantled concerned outfits, arrested and prosecuted its leadership, and de-radicalized its cadres.” It will surprise many that Washington made this announcement in haste on misguidance of Indian proxies in Pakistan, otherwise Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) has not yet finalized investigation of Pahalgam terrorism.

If we recall, Pakistan’s General Pervez, who was awarded death penalty by Pakistan’s highest court, imposed ban on LeT in 2002. In July 2019, Pakistani Counter Terrorism Department officials registered 23 cases related to terrorism financing against more than a dozen people belonging to LeT, Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) on grounds that these individuals were using various charities and trusts to raise funds to finance terrorism.

Interestingly, Pakistan is aggrieved over linking TRF with LeT but not linking with Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs statement stresses, “Pakistan continue to remain bulwark of Counter-Terrorism bulwark through unparellel sacrifices and efficacy, eurge International community to adopt objective and non-discriminatory policies to address the global menace through collective efforts which necessitate that terrorist organizations like Majeed Brigade must also be listed as alias of BLA.”

Ironically, instead of investigating family linkages of Indian origin Canadian national who absconded Pakistani Army namely Tahawur Hussain Rana and Indian origin American national Syed Dawood Gilani aka David Coleman Headley who still have businesses in Mumbai India, Pakistani authorities are bent upon elimination indegnious Pakistanis. How long world should remain silent? Tahawur Hussain Rana’s and David Coleman Headley’s parents migrated from India to Pakistan and have still have properties in India, their families belong to sect which are deadly against LeT or JuD so how we can establish theit linkages with LeT. Pakistan is doing all this through incompetent leaders under foreign pressure. Deception as a strategy and misguiding the world to avoid taking decision are totally opposite to each other. Compromise over sovereignty and national integrity is badly felt here. No doubt, Pakistani leadership must take nation into confidence rather than concluding illegitimate secret treaties and agreements. UNO must also stop operations leading to human rights violations against Baloch and Tribal under Indian and US pressures.