In an interview with Sky News journalist Yalda Hakim, Pakistan People’s Party Senator Sherry Rehman appeared to indirectly acknowledge Pakistan’s troubled past with terror groups, including long-standing concerns about state links to organizations operating within its borders.
The interview, which touched on Pakistan’s recent removal from the FATF grey list, turned sharply when the conversation shifted to the country’s past record on terrorism and its alleged complicity in harbouring extremist elements.
Responding to questions about Pakistan’s record, Rehman stated: “You keep on talking about the past… because it was…” She added, “We are fighting terrorism… Pakistan is a changed country now.”
Her remarks came during a pointed exchange on why Pakistan was listed under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list until 2022, and what role individuals like Sajid Mir, a key plotter of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, played in delaying Pakistan’s exit from it.
Hakim pressed further on Pakistan’s past tolerance of terrorism, highlighting that Sajid Mir was only arrested after years of denial about his presence in the country.
Rehman, in response, said, “You’re citing a long history of engaging with terrorism one way or the other… either fighting it or otherwise.” The phrasing, seen as an implicit admission, has triggered reactions in Indian diplomatic and strategic circles, where the interview is being viewed as yet another example of Pakistan’s leadership acknowledging—however obliquely—its entanglements with terror outfits.
On Brigade 313
The interview was originally pegged to a broader conversation about Brigade 313, a shadowy network identified by analysts from TRAC (Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium) as Al-Qaeda’s operational umbrella in Pakistan.
The group reportedly comprises members from Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and other militant organizations, many of which have carried out attacks in India.
Senator Rehman dismissed the classification, suggesting it was part of a narrative aligned with Indian perspectives: “Most of the international analysts you’re quoting are strongly aligned with India’s narrative,” she told Hakim.
