Following 2 photos are the scenes of 2 more cowardly attacks by the enemies of Pakistan in my Lahore and my Peshawar. Very sad and our prayers go to the innocents who got martyred. If anything, these cowardly acts are going to make our resolve stronger against the terrorists. Dawn coverage here and here.
Photo Credits: Dawn and M. Ramzan
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Every day, like clockwork, Pakistanis are dying.
I do think that the government and military is now fighting the right battle. Pakistan’s first priority must be to get to these killers who are killing Pakistanis. All else, no matter who pushes us, has to be secondar.
I too am sorry that yet another discussion has been highjacked.
Whether India is involved or not, I do not know. But this I know, a lot of Indians on all Pakistani boards are bent on making everything about them… maybe a sign of insecurity even in this time of their confidence.
Anyhow, it is just unbecoming how they want to convert every discussion about them!
Unfortunately it seems like we’ve taken our minds off the victims and resorted to unnecessary debate about which I seriously doubt any of us has a good understanding.
However, I think I can safely say that it would be terribly naive to say that any of the players in the region have clean hands: ALL of these countries have, to varying degrees, at some point or another, supported violent militias and gangs of terrorist thugs to advance their agendas. This sort of blind faith in the noble intentions of one’s government and military is exactly what leads to unnecessary conflict and bloodshed.
Aamir,
Could you please point to even one credible piece of evidence of Indian/RAW support for any terrorist outfits operating in Pakistan? Or anywhere else for that matter? The one thing you might point to from the last 30 years is the LTTE. But then LTTE was supported “before” it converted itself into the terror outfit it became. Also, multiple accounts (e.g. read T. Sabaratnam’s classic biography of Prabhakaran or David Jeyaraj’s accounts over the years in various mainstream newspapers in Colombo) point to
a. how LTTE was never supplied advanced weaponry or training by RAW
b. how these links were cut off when the organizations started killing civilians and indulging in indiscriminate violence
In any case, Indian blood and treasure was employed to get rid of the LTTE and an Indian Prime Minister lost his life to an LTTE suicide bomber. There has been no support to the LTTE or any other organization since. And that was in the period before 1987 – 22 years have passed since then.
The fact is that there is absolutely no evidence to suggest any support to terrorist organizations inside Pakistan by RAW or any other Indian agency. No known expert outside of loony conspiracy theorists in Pakistan and their followers gives any credence to such claims. Even now, all you seem to be able to point to in support of your “that is the truth” assertion about the involvement of India is a set of conjectures and possibilities.
As to the weapons the TTP has access to, ask yourself of the kind of weapons that are available all over Pakistan and particularly in the tribal areas and have been available from the time of the Afghan war against the Soviets. Your supposed surprise at the availability of weapons in the hands of the TTP surprises me very much.
@Sridhar
The difference between CIA and RAW is that India has a long record of sponsoring terrorism/insurgency in its neighborhood, while the CIA has not been sponsors of such activities in Pakistan, except in the minds of some crazed Pakistanis who see a conspiracy theory in every teacup.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban has never targeted India and has been barely involved in Afghanistan. They are also not strong enough to takeover Pakistan, but they are strong enough to cause enormous damage to Pakistan. Also since they put the word “Taliban” in their names the world automatically associates them with Afghanistan. Hence they are perfect candidate for a country like India which benefits greatly from a weakened Pakistan which has to focus on terror, and not on Kashmir.
Sure its possible that the Tehreek-e-Taliban enjoys no Indian support whatsoever, but I find that difficult to believe given the enormous amount of heavy weaponry and funding the TTP has. Heck even the Kashmiri mujahideen never had the sort of resources the TTP has.