BY ROZINA ALI<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0After the death of 173 people in the Mumbai attacks, it was not only India but also Pakistan that feared for its safety. As Indian security forces recovered dead bodies from the November 26 carnage, a sinking realization overcame the two countries\u2019 that their fates were inextricably linked. A year earlier, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto had died in a suicide bombing that killed 150 others in Islamabad. With frequent attacks now spilling beyond Pakistan\u2019s border, India immediately demanded stronger policy from Pakistan on subverting terrorist threat.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Although it has not been the first time Pakistanis have carried out attacks in India, the Mumbai massacre signaled to Pakistan the cost to its domestic political stability if it continued to take a passive attitude towards militant groups within its borders. The rising military and ideological strength of these groups threaten Pakistan\u2019s future political stability as they act outside of the government and military authorization.\u00a0 But Pakistan\u2019s rhetoric in the past few days about the Mumbai attacks suggests the country is shifting its critical gaze inward.<\/p>\n
In a surprising move last Thursday, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik acknowledged that the Mumbai attacks were partially planned in Pakistan. \u201cWe have located those places used by the terrorists as hideouts before launching, some accused have been arrested and they have given details,\u201d Malik said in a press conference in Islamabad.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 After three months of a rhetoric war between the two countries, Pakistan\u2019s recent admission was a breakthrough in India-Pakistan relations. Less than a month ago, Pakistan\u2019s High Commissioner in Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan had told India\u2019s NDTV Channel that the Pakistani territory was not used to implement the attacks.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pakistan\u2019s admission has forced the country to acknowledge issues beyond terrorism that plague its political environment. Although it was not until after the September 11 attacks that Pakistan took action against militant forces, the strong presence of these groups was not new. Amidst pressures from the United States, former President Pervez Musharraf banned Lashkar-e-Taiba in January 2002. The militant group fights against Indian forces in India-occupied Kashmir, and before the ban, operated with relative freedom in Pakistan. The Pakistani government is currently holding nine Lashkar-e-Taiba members on suspicion of involvement in the Mumbai attacks.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Taliban activities continue, it is becoming clear to Pakistan that the country is vulnerable to different ideological forces, and militant attacks are not the only concern. Since its partition, the country has not been able to reconcile the secular and Islamist groups attempting to guide the still fledgling nation-state. \u201cThere are two visions being played out in Pakistan. This is the heart and soul of Pakistan. You finally realized you carried the contradiction within you,\u201d retired banker Shaheryar Azhar said over the phone. Currently residing in New York City, Azhar also moderates an online Pakistani politics list serv called \u201cThe Forum\u201d and has interviewed prestigious figures such as Benazir Bhutto.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Militant forces not only endanger civilians, but the political core of the country as well. According to Azhar, the country faced 600 terrorist attacks in 2008 alone, killing both civilians and soldiers. And it is young men and boys who help plan and execute these attacks with anti-US and anti-India fervor against secular government forces. They are demanding a shift of political rule in Pakistan according to their religious or political agenda. Simply put, Azhar said, the country is on the brink of civil war.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Despite Pakistan\u2019s recent admission, India and the United States have accused the government of not doing enough to destroy the terrorist infrastructure in the country. Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee welcomed Pakistan\u2019s move, but he remained cautious. \u201cWe will continue to review the situation, including Pakistan\u2019s responses, and will take further steps that we deem necessary in order to protect our people,\u201d Mr. Mukherjee said in Parliament after Malik\u2019s press conference. \u201cThe threat of terrorism from Pakistan has emerged as a global menace and cancer. The major onus of responsibility to eliminate this threat rests on the government of Pakistan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yet as India demanded stronger action from Pakistan on combating the terrorist threat, Pakistan was vague about its next steps. Although Foreign Minister Malik admitted to Lashkar-e-Taiba activity in Pakistan, he said those suspects held may be prosecuted. Pakistan is facing a catch-22: while militant groups challenge the country\u2019s security and stability, they remain a strong force that can dismantle the government.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Pakistani government does not want the state to fall into the hands of the Islamist forces in the country, Azhar said. The recent assassination of Bhutto and earlier attempts on Musharraf\u2019s life indicated that Pakistan simply does not have the military and financial capability to fight off an enemy that remains a powerful force in the country.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For this reason, Azhar theorized that the Pakistani government acted with foresight when it pardoned the infamous nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan from house arrest weeks before Malik\u2019s press conference. The act most likely confused militant groups and the population who would have accused Pakistan of submitting to U.S. pressures when it pursued investigations of the Mumbai attacks.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As India awaits further action from its neighbor, Islamist forces in Pakistan continue to strike. As of Sunday, Pakistan signed a peace deal with a Taliban group that will allow the group to implement Sharia Law in the Swat valley in return for their weapons. Only a few days after Malik\u2019s press conference, the move points to the challenge of working with specific Islamic groups and weeding out the militants who threaten regional stability.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yet it is not Pakistan\u2019s challenge alone. According to Azhar, another attack on India is likely unless the two countries can work together. \u201cPakistan and India have to understand that they cannot home hostage to those who commit terror. Their relationship cannot come hostage to that.\u201d