‘Difficult to believe Pakistan is no longer sponsoring…’: Ex-Pak ambassador Husain Haqqani

Former Pakistan ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, sharing a video of a designated terrorist’s inflammatory speech against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said it is difficult to believe that Islamabad no longer sponsors terrorism. The person in the video is Muzammil Hashmi from Lashkar-e-Taiba. He can be seen saying Pakistan is not scared of India’s missiles, and seems to have acknowledged their role in the recent political and civil crisis in Bangladesh. 

“The rhetoric of Jihadi extremists at their public rallies makes it difficult for the rest of the world to believe official assertions that Pakistan is no longer sponsoring or tolerating them,” said Haqqani. 

A user commented that every country has its own version of extremism, and Pakistan has never elected any such extremist. “We are a very moderate entity,” the user said. Haqqani, in his response said, “And yet, no one outside the Pakistani echo chamber believes that. Wonder why that is?”

Another user said Muzammil Hashmi is not a terrorist but a political worker, who is not apologetic and believes in the ideology of Pakistan. “Hate is not an ideology,” responded Haqqani. 

In the video, Hashmi can be seen saying that he has a message for Modi – that the children in Pakistan are not scared of his missiles, why will they fear the bullets. He can be seen saying India struck at night while they attacked in broad daylight. 

Hashmi also claimed credit for the crisis in Bangladesh. “Modi tu janta hai humne pichle saal tujhe Bangladesh me shikast di (You know last year we defeated you in Bangladesh),” in an apparent reference to the ouster of the pro-India Sheikh Hasina government. 

“Pakistan is a country that has never forgiven any of its enemies,” he said.