Word: siddiqa
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...police are not trained to tackle terrorism," says independent security analyst Ayesha Siddiqa. In the capital, Islamabad, which has seen some two dozen bombings in recent years, including the spectacular 2008 attack on the Marriott hotel, the police role has largely been to protect VIPs, she says. "Now they have to deal with a major threat, but have no expertise." Relative to the size of the population, the police are understaffed. And they enjoy little public confidence amid widespread allegations of venality. Other problems listed by Siddiqa include a lack of coordination between various intelligence agencies, poor...
...Last month, the Ministry of Interior established the National Counterterrorism Authority, a partly European Union-funded civilian government body. Even though it is headed by Tariq Parvez, one of the country's most esteemed former police officers, analysts such as Siddiqa worry that it will be toothless. "It was set up far too late, there are many bureaucratic problems holding up progress, and there are pressures on the Ministry of Interior that are not allowing it work freely," she adds...
...overhaul of Pakistan's education system, the development of alternatives to the hard-line Islamist message that resonates in growing parts of the country, and vast development funds that will create jobs and a future for those potentially lured by the call of jihad. Right now, says Siddiqa, "there is no such policy, and nobody is keen to do anything...
...northwest and the tribal areas and terrorized major cities, Pakistan, analysts say, can ill-afford a revival of sectarian violence that plagued the country during the 1980s, when Saudi-backed Sunni militant groups clashed with Iranian-backed Shi'ite ones as part of a regional proxy war. Says Ayesha Siddiqa, an independent security analyst: "It isn't just Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan where Iran can create trouble if it wants...
...President is attacking every form of dissent," says Ayesha Siddiqa, a political and military analyst. "His very authoritarian behavior is raising a serious question: are we looking at Pakistan's Mr. Putin? And how does one deal with a President who breaks all promises?" Sensing opportunity, Sharif has cast himself as a man of principle and a victim of Zardari's excesses. Unburdened by the pressures of power, the Punjabi industrialist has been pushing the government to reinstate Chaudhry for over a year now. He quit the coalition government after Zardari backtracked on agreements to do so. A confrontation...