Washington, Jan 27 : While Pakistan has increasingly misused laws to target journalists for coverage critical of state institutions by investigating, summoning, and jailing them -- real terrorists in the country operate freely raising funds, recruiting, indoctrinating and training their members to pursue jihad, including ethnic cleansing, terrorism, imperialism, and territorial expansionism, a report said on Tuesday.

Writing for American media outlet â??PJ Mediaâ??, Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut stressed that the West's consideration of Pakistan as "strategic, major non-NATO ally" reflects how â??disoriented, unprincipled, and uninformedâ?? Western foreign policy remains in the wider South Asian region.

â??A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has sentenced in absentia eight journalists and social media commentators to life imprisonment following their conviction of terrorism-related offences. These charges are linked to online activity in support of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan. One convicted journalist, who lives in New York, said that he was never notified of any proceedings,â?? she highlighted.

In stark contrast, Bulut noted that actual terrorists in Pakistan who openly advocate violence and jihad roam free, with members and leaders of UN-designated terrorist organisations openly spreading pro-jihad propaganda and holding pro-jihad events across the country.

â??The chief of the terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Maulana Masood Azhar, addressed an event on November 2 last year at the Ijtimah (Islamic gathering) held for JeMâ??s members. During his speech, Masood appealed to the people to "join the jihad in the light of the Quranâ??, the Turkish journalist stated

â??In addition, an audio clip containing the speech of senior JeM leader, Maulana Talha Al-Saif (brother of JeM Chief Maulana Masood Azhar), has surfaced. The audio reflects his remarks while delivering Khutba Juma (Friday Sermon) at a mosque in the District of Bahawalpur on October 10, 2025. Maulana Talha Al-Saif said, â??Use your Zakat (religious tax) in the way of Jihad, for the construction of Mosques, to help Mujahideen and other needy Muslimsâ??,â?? she added.

According to the report, Pakistan has witnessed an alarming resurgence of terror groups, especially Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), across the country. The terrorist groups, including JeM, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as well as their proxies, such as Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), often organise training sessions, meetings, workshops, and other events in the country.

â??The events occur across Pakistan, during which pro-jihad and anti-India statements are freely shared, and participants are further indoctrinated. Leaders and representatives of those terrorist organisations also deliver sermons at mosques," the report noted.

/IANS