Word: musharraf
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Prior to its installation in Afghanistan, al-Qaeda had several nests in various countries, including Pakistan. President Pervez Musharraf's problems in the wake of the attack on the Indian Parliament are caused by the inherent contradictions in his need to be seen as a champion of Islam by the fundamentalists and a combatant against terrorism by the U.S.-led international community. He has a very hard decision to make, and if he chooses unwisely, there will no doubt be great economic destruction and tragedy on the whole subcontinent. GAUTAM V. DESAI Bombay...
...Still, Musharraf had no choice, and not simply because of the Indian troops massing on his border demanding action against the perpetrators of recent terror strikes in New Delhi and Srinagar. Even inside Pakistan, the militant groups cultivated by the intelligence services to provide an army of jihadis for Kashmir had evolved into uncontrollable armed groups that fomented violence against Shiite Muslims, Christians and other Pakistani minorities. As General Musharraf noted in his speech last Saturday, they have come to represent a threat to Pakistan's own internal stability and even its long-term survival. "Violence and terrorism have been...
...increasingly into conflict with the U.S. over the export of terrorism, Islamabad found itself the odd man out as the Islamist infrastructure it had cultivated partly in service to Cold War objectives now came increasingly into conflict with the West. September 11 finally forced a decisive choice on General Musharraf. Indeed, even after the Taliban's defeat, Washington's own interests in pursuing al Qaeda elements fleeing Afghanistan have prompted it to support India's demands for a crackdown on their Pakistani supporters. Pakistan's other key Cold War patron, China, likewise has its own interests in curbing the influence...
...India too has a substantial interest in General Musharraf's success. Failure would see the general ousted and replaced by a leadership more prone to Islamist adventurism. And while India's military superiority would almost always prevail, New Delhi's long-term interests in attracting growth and investment and realizing its potential in the global marketplace are imperiled by the specter of continued conflict with a hostile and nuclear-armed neighbor. Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes may have repeatedly warned that if Musharraf fails to rein in the Islamists, India will have to do the job itself - but military confrontation...
...Even if Musharraf succeeds in shutting down the extremists, of course, the Kashmir question remains to be resolved. The general made clear in his speech that the struggle for the disputed territory remains at the heart of Pakistan's national identity, although he appears to have conceded the principle that Pakistan can no longer get directly involved in insurgent activity in Indian-controlled Kashmir even though he recognized the right of Kashmiris themselves to take up arms against India. By shutting down terrorism, in fact, Musharraf potentially strengthens Pakistan's diplomatic position in calling for an internationally mediated political solution...