War against terrorism is a battle for survival

Last week's terrorist bombing in Karachi, which left 14 people including 11 French engineers dead, demonstrates Pakistan's continued vulnerability. General Pervez Musharraf has called the bombing an attempt to destabilise Pakistan and "weaken its resolve" in the fight against terrorism.

But his decision to create a new anti-terrorism task force and the arrest of over 400 militant Islamists is unlikely to deter future terrorist attacks.

General Musharraf needs international help in dealing with the terrorist threat. In addition to money and material, the international community must explain to Musharraf the links between terrorism and his mistaken domestic and regional policies. Pakistan has, over the years, become a soft state with ineffective law enforcement.

Resources of the police and intelligence-gathering agencies have been over stretched as governments use them to stay in power and not just to keep crime and terrorism in check.

Only recently, almost the entire machinery of state was deployed to help General Musharraf win his uncontested referendum. Police in many cities were busy commandeering private vehicles to transport the audience for General Musharraf's political rallies.

Intelligence agencies probably kept tabs on the country's political opposition while the terrorists who struck in Karachi were busy preparing for their latest strike.

Political distractions leave little time, or resources, for actual police work. The terrorists know that and take advantage of the state's weakness. The promises of 'taking the terrorists to task' made by General Musharraf and his officials after the Karachi bombing are merely rehashed versions of similar statements made earlier.

Incorrect

It is incorrect on the part of the government to claim that the recent terrorist attacks are exclusively linked to Pakistan's support for the United States in the war against terrorism. Al-Qaeda and other Islamic militant groups have operated in Pakistan for years and the country has been a target of their attacks since before September 11.

The city of Karachi witnessed the gunning down of US consulate officials as well as employees of an American Oil company (Union Texas) a few years ago. Sectarian and ethnic murders as well as unexplained bombings have been a common occurrence even when Pakistan was not a US ally.

Before September 11, terrorists took advantage of poor law enforcement and the government's support for the Taliban to operate inside Pakistan. Islamabad's acceptance of militants operating in Indian-controlled Kashmir as freedom fighters helped in the forging of underground extremist networks throughout the country.

Brave face

One can understand the Musharraf government's need to put a brave face on its virtual impotence against terrorism but its spokesmen should not try to insult the intelligence of informed commentators by making inaccurate statements.

Take the example of government claims after the latest bombing. Information Minister Nisar Memon reportedly said, "We will (catch) those who were responsible for this act. We arrested the killers of Daniel Pearl and we will act similarly in this case."

The fact, however, remains that seven of Pearl's killers have not been arrested despite their identities being known to the authorities through statements of other accused.

Similarly, the arrest of over 400 alleged members of banned militant groups contributes little to public confidence. Most of those arrested in the latest 'crackdown' were probably amongst the 1800 militants released after the last crackdown that followed General Musharraf's January 12 speech promising an end to militancy. Over 2000 members of Islamic militias were detained after General Musharraf announced the ban on five militant groups in that speech.

It seems that the government lacks a coherent strategy against terrorism. It is not even sure whether it should blame India or Al-Qaeda for the latest attack in Karachi. Some officials have privately blamed the ethnic political party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which has been accused in the past of links with Indian intelligence services.

But the MQM blames Pakistan's security services for waging a dirty war in Karachi. In any case, General Musharraf cannot start pointing fingers at MQM so soon after having sought the party's support during his referendum campaign.

If the MQM is a potential terrorist organisation, it should not have shared the stage with the general during his disastrous foray into populist politics.

With over one million troops from both countries facing each other on the border, Pakistan has reasons to be concerned about India's intentions. But India refuses to back off from its coercive diplomacy.

New Delhi feels that the Musharraf regime wants to use its new leverage with the United States to keep up pressure on India in Kashmir. The United States, too, seems to be worried about the prospect of India-Pakistan confrontation and has sent Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca to calm the situation.

The U.S. seems inclined towards accepting the Indian view that Pakistan has not ended what New Delhi terms "cross-border terrorism" - the infiltration of Islamic militants into the Indian-controlled parts of Kashmir.

"President Musharraf knows that reining in the groups that are doing these cross-border attacks is something that that is not in the interest of India alone," Undersecretary of Defence Douglas Feith was quoted by Reuters as telling a conference on U.S.-Indian defence trade.

Indian allegations of cross-border terrorism, countered by Pakistani allegations of an Indian hand in the Karachi terrorist bombings, are hardly conducive to an atmosphere of dialogue between the two traditional adversaries.

Pakistan will either have to convince the United States (and the rest of the world) of the validity of its accusation against India or withdraw the charge. Pakistan runs the risk of further destabilisation if domestic terrorism and deteriorating relations with India are not immediately brought under control.

Another front that saps the government's energies and renders its campaign against terrorism ineffective is General Musharraf's persistent crusade against Pakistan's politicians.

Massive resources have been spent on the so-called accountability of civilian politicians, civil servants and businessmen. Given political will, these resources could have been easily diverted to the war against terrorists.

The accountability exercise has provided jobs to several serving and retired military officers but has failed to clean up corruption as extensively as originally intended. It now serves as a reminder of how trying to set everything right leaves a lot more undone.

The Musharraf regime's political opponents are continually detained on corruption charges for long periods. But the government says it is unable to arrest terrorism suspects indefinitely without due process.

The case of Senator Asif Ali Zardari illustrates the government's confusion. Zardari has been in prison since 1996 without being successfully convicted of any offense