TERROR has again hit Pakistan. Less than a week after a suicide bomb destroyed the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad killing at least 53 people, a railway track bomb in Punjab yesterday killed six passengers on a train derailed by the blast. Unfortunately, at the time the police and army were busy elsewhere; airports throughout the country, not railways, had been on full alert following a bomb threat and the capital was sealed off on Thursday night as police searched for suspected car bombs. There can be no assurance that the bombings will stop. Claiming responsibility for suicide attacks last month that left more than 120 dead, the Taleban threatened a wave of violence nationwide if the government offensive in North West Frontier Province did not end. It has not. Yesterday it was announced that over 100 militants had been killed since the operation began in August. The Marriott bomb, the train attack and what seems yesterday to have been a planned attack in Karachi, which only failed when the suicide bombers were tapped in a police raid and blew themselves up, are presumably part of the Taleban’s threatened retaliation. Given the scale of the military onslaught, the militants are bound to attempt more suicide attacks. With their numbers drastically reducing, it is the only tactic they have. Indeed it was the only tactic they ever had. But with their backs against the wall, they are going to become even more violent.
Against the background of this bloody struggle, the growing strained relationship between Pakistan and the US, which saw Pakistani troops last week firing on US helicopters on the ill-defined Pak-Afghan border, has the potential to neutralize both sides’ campaigns against the Taleban. In military terms the clash was of minimal consequence; just a few warning shots fired. In political terms, however, the symbolism of the two allies, both committed to fighting the same enemy, turning their guns on each other is potentially immense. Of course, it could have been a piece of play acting for domestic political purposes — to satisfy an increasingly angry public that the Pakistani government is prepared to stand up to the Americans and stop their growing attacks on suspected Taleban hide-outs on the Pakistani side of the border. Given the rising tensions and the potential for a parting of ways, it is not surprising that Gen. David Petraeus, who has moved from Iraq to take over control of US forces in Afghanistan, wants to avoid pouring oil on troubled waters. A couple of days ago, he said that Pakistani and US-led forces in Afghanistan must work with each other.
The general also said that the very existence of Pakistan is threatened by the extremists. At the same time cross-border attacks on suspected militants by US planes certainly do nothing for the Pakistani government’s credibility. It is nobody’s case that Washington wants an unstable Pakistan. It wants a firm Pakistan — but foolishly undermines its government by riding roughshod over its sovereignty. Gen. Petraeus’ call for cooperation could represent a significant change in tactics. Could it mean that the US incursions are going to stop and that in future the US will leave dealing with the Taleban on the Pakistani side of the border to the Pakistani Army? That has to be the answer. But we have to wait and see if it happens.
