After Suicide Bombing, Can Pakistan Launch a Credible Offensive Against Terrorism?
The government is under pressure to fight extremists—and the impression it's fighting America's war
Government officials hope that the suicide attack could prompt many Pakistanis to change their minds about ongoing military operations in the restive tribal belt where fierce clashes continue between Taliban militants and the security forces. Many have dismissed the effort as America's war, rather than one Pakistan needs to fight for itself.
However, there are many who still believe that Pakistan is fighting a war for Washington. "Unfortunately, the government has failed to convince a majority of Pakistanis that it's their own war," says Masood, adding that the Bush administration has exacerbated the problem with its controversial missile strikes and ground operations inside Pakistan in recent months. He adds that the militants have used the U.S. attacks to exploit the retaliatory sentiments of tribesmen.
Irfan Siddiqui, a senior Pakistani columnist, also sees a deep sense of revenge behind the suicide bombings.
"We have to understand the psychology of the people who are being killed in tribal areas, and in retaliation, their heirs attack us," he says. "When they see that Pakistanis and Americans join hands, and bomb their villages...they simply think they are Islamabadians or Karachiites who, along with America, are killing us. They just believe in revenge, a blind revenge."
Reader Comments
BAN PAK
I suggest US not to fund PAK as their money in indirectly going their defence & earned PAK money is funding terrorist parties.
What PAK has achieved businesswise in international level?
Contribution of PAK in Word Technology?
Contribution (positive) of PAK to Human being?
PAK is showing help to US in Afgan border? Is it reason US is backing PAK?....PAK
We have to BAN PAK if all feel that they are in worong direction.
Don't Take Pashtuns as objects in all this.
I as a Pashtun want to inform your esteemed news paper that some Pakistanis that have expressed their views in this article are not Pashtuns. They rather belong to the dominent Punjabi-Muhajir ruling classes who have created this whole mess are using the terrorist networks as money-making enterprise to extort as much from the West as they can, to use their Islamist proxies as a way to gain an upperhand in Afghanistan and Kashmir, and to save their own skin and lay the balme on Pashtuns and use Pashtuns as sacrificial lambs.
I in particular condemn the statement by Irfan Siddiqi, which expresses his Muhajir-ethnist biase against Pashtuns.
Al-Qaueda, Taleban, and other networks are the assets of Punjab dominated Pakistan Army and its Punjabi-Muhajir ruling classes.
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