Mutual Mistrust

I just want to convey to the US population who enjoys the luxury of having non-confrontational neighbors, the sense of outrage at the recent attacks, which we Indians are feeling by using a fictional analogy.


Imagine there are autonomous regions in Canada, just for example sake, where the Canadian govt. does not have total control. Imagine the Canadians having existential grudge towards USA, which is accelerated by rising prosperity of USA. So the Canadian intelligence started nurturing militants in these autonomous areas to harm USA by thousand cuts, resulting in bomb blasts in various US cities over many years and ending up in a conflagration where suicidal terrorists goes on rampage for 3 days in a big city resulting in mass casualty . Imagine the Canadian govt absolving itself of all responsibilities saying that non-state players are involved and they are not under the govt. control.


I will be curious as to how US citizens, who advice restraint to Indians now will ask their govt. to react in such a scenario. Again, this may be a flawed analogy and US security forces are much better prepared to nip the cross border terrorism in the bud and the Canadians will never even think of doing any evil. Unfortunately Indians are caught in this situation, partly by being a soft state. You guys don???t have any idea of the snowballing effect of years of Pakistan sponsored terrorism is having on Indian psyche. The glib talking Pakistani diplomats have managed to hoodwink and blackmail the western world by double talk and presenting themselves as victims of terror.

When things settle down in next few weeks, the ISI , in collusion with terrorists will start scheming new carnage ( if they already haven???t more in pipeline)and the impotent civilian govt. will say that there is not enough proof to act on ??? non state elements???. Again millions of defenseless Indians will be left to fend for themselves just NOT BEING AT THE WRONG PLACE AT WRONG TIME. All US citizens should be grateful for the fact that they are not encircled by Islamic countries. ??? I envy you folks. Even though 9/11 has no comparison in its scale, you guys can sleep peacefully at least not having to worry about next-door neighbors inciting terror at military level. Trust me, fighting terrorism when you have porous borders with neighbors who are hell bent on destroying you is not simple as securing airports and ports. Having 200 million minorities, many of them placing their religion over their homeland add to the mess.

December 3rd 1971- the beginning of the end of the genocide of the Bengali Muslims perpetrated by Pakistani Soldiers. Over 3 million Bengalis were murdered. Let not the world forget.

What is Pakistan's standing in the world today? A nation that has always and still is used to bailouts from rest of the world. In return it has exported terror and allowed many of it's citizens set up madarasas and training grounds for militants. Why should anyone cooperate with them. Look what US cooperation has done - the US keeps getting smacked by the Pakistani media and the fundamentalists alike.

As an American observer, the image of Pakistan is that of a failing state incapable of neutralizing terrorrists within it's borders. However, India is economically forging ahead despite it's many socio-economic ills.

You folks can keep commenting 'til you turn blue, the fact is Pakistan's worldwide image is highly blemished unlike that of India period

Samjhota express attackers are in Jail - and they'll pay for what they did. What about 1993 mumbai blasts? What about the Kandhahar hijackers? What about attackers of Indian parliament? What about dawood? Enough is enough. And if you think Indians are biased, please ask people you trust: people like americans who seem to pay to keep your country afloat. The point is not that Indians are all angels & all Pakistanis are monsters. You've terrorism coming out your country like the plague: philosophy, funding, training, equipment & protection. That's got to stop. If you guys don't do it, others are planning to come in & fix it.

India has decent relationship with other countries. And our definition of good relationship is not same as Pakistan's: If you think by being a chinese pawn you're in a good relationship you're in for a surprise when they're done with you.

If you get bored with essays you should stick to comics or easy to follow lashkar & al queda manuals. No one is forcing you to read my comments. This is a democratic debate - something a pakistani may not understand and will take lot of time to get used to.

Here comes yet another oscar winning performance from Pakistan govt - they say they'll co-operate with India. By asking for evidence, using delay tactics, claiming they've never heard of dawood ibrahim etc.

We need a better understanding of Pakistan as a state before even saying 'Pakistan says'. And the spokesman did not really say they'll aid in the investigation - they said 'let's set up a joint commission for investigation'.

There're 4 different Pakistans: Elected govt (until the next colonel with a good pistol comes along), The army & ISI, extremist alliances like al queda, lashkar e toiba, jaish e muhammad & taliban, and the frontier tribal areas not in anyone's control. What we heard is the representative of one of this element speaking. None of these elements are really in control of Pakistan or each other.

Pakistan govt is back to it's old games - that is try to talk their way out of outrageous situations. They don't understand that time for talking & delay tactics are over. They must act. They must act now. They must understand that consequences of their usual 'we'll be sweet & nice & helpful as long as all we have to do is make dignified statements to western media' attitude will be different this time. Right now they're clearly not interested in helping or even accepting that their citizens are involved. They just want this crisis to blow over and maintain the status quo. They'll keep saying all the right things and do nothing - that is what they have been doing for last few decades. Only thing they & their military understands is USA cutting off aid or bombing them. They believe nuclear blackmail will see them through any outrage launched from their soil by their citizens they can't control or govern.

Not just India, but their dependable source like CIA says their terror lab & intelligence agency ISI is involved in the bombing of Indian embassy in Kabul. The hijackers of Indian aircraft to Kandhahar drove off to Pakistan & live there. Dawood Ibrahim lives there. The list will practically involve the entire who's who of planet terror.

Pakistani govt won't do anything. Pakistani govt can't do anything - army & ISI won't let them. Only one thing went wrong for Pakistan in this terror attack - one of the attackers got caught alive - and he is singing songs his masters don't want to hear. Pakistan asks for evidence - it's like a burglar asking for proof so that he can arrest himself. What is the point??

Pakistan is not a state as we know it. Pakistan is a nuclear weapon loaded basket case region with no single governing authority. It's not just an international migraine as Ms Albright puts it, it's a cancer patient who need surgery. If this place is not fixed right now, the world will pay for it tomorrow, just like India paid last week.

This reminds me of the episode in Star Trek about two similar aliens - one black on white and the other the reverse. They could not get past their anomosity towards each other.
For the westerners, this is at least a 1000 year war, which came to a peak about 500 years ago. The Punjab and Sindh regions bore the brunt of it. The former conquerers (ie Muslims) do not wish to relinquise the conquest even in India.

Being educated I want to keep an open mind and try to understand viewpoints of others ,yours and for that matter even Pakistan's.But I fail to understand what an educated muslim youth of pakistan or pakistani origin of i guess 20-21 was thinking when he was gunning innocents down ?What was he trying to avenge?
Yours is a typical westerner's view of India/Pak issue where the key to solution is Kashmir....You forget Punjab too was bone of contention once and we resolved the issue on our own and quite sucessfully......similarly we can resolve kashmir too if not for western and UN interference.India is a decent ,respectable and to some extent a very soft nation while pakistan is a ROGUE nation.....Their is no way the both can co-operate...someone rightly commented..if Mr Bush were India's PM ,he would have bombed pakistan by now(justifiably so ) and the way he likes to say "Smoked'em terrorists out" ...

This is the stupidest article i have ever seen in Newsweek. This is worst to say that RAW did everything in Pakistan as per sources, Is it ? Did you see the proof ?
I can show you a well documented by USA for proofs of how ISI did so many horrible things in India ? How abour Kargil ? ha ? How about Mumbai train blasts ? how about parlimament attack ? ah ? How about thousands indisian killed by pakistan and itss terrorist allies ? Spineless Indian leaders did not wipe out Pakistan. Had Mr.Bush being Indian president for 1 year, paskistan would not exist in map. Don't you think Ron ? Are you a Pakistani , Ron ?
howout thoussa

Ron, Your article sucks big time....How about writing the same article about lets...say Can USA and Cuba learn to cooperate?...or Can Israel and Iran learn to cooperate....It's height of double standards...When Bin Laden attacked US, it destroyed the whole of Afghanistan...or how about Iraq..Why did you not ask the question "Can Saddam Hussein and Bush learn to cooperate..Please stop preaching India...The worst thing that can happen is trying to compare India with Pakistan..Its like comparing apples and oranges...Pakistan is a failed state and will always be..Do you really think, India is or will be a failed state?? If you do, then you must be smoking marijuana..We Indians are tired of listening to american writers..who somehow think that they know better about everything and they are supposed to pass comments about everything..For God sake, if you cannot understand the enormity of the problem, then shut up and write something about lets say "Should lesbians & Homo be allowed to marry"...You think terrorists attacked because of Kashmir..No...even if we give Kashmir, tomorrow they will fight for another state...For them any muslim majority state or city is theirs..India is a secular country and it cannot give away land just because that state has a muslim majority...How about if Mexico wants to take away California just because it has more mexicans..Sounds funny..Right?? The same way it sounds funny to us..when a writer/reporter/analyst from some third country gives lecture on what India should do or not do...For God sake, stop giving reason for terrorist acts & Carnage of Mumbai...Tibet is occupied by China..Do you have the guts to say China should give Tibet back..????? In this case, Kashmir was never Pakistans..Because there was no Pakistan before Independence...and so it rightfully belongs to India...Have you ever heard Tibetans blowing or killing others because their country has been taken from them ....No this only happens from the so called religion of PEACE...I wish USA, India, China, Russia and Israel get together and finish this menace once and for all..This religion of peace has been attributed to lot of conflict/war..It's high time..the writer should spend some time in understanding Islam, India, Pakistan before writing such dumb article....

???Given this deep and long history of mistrust, it's hard to see how New Delhi and Islamabad can somehow restore a modicum of mutual confidence and begin sharing intelligence and cooperating together against jihadi groups whose targets include the destruction of both states.???

There is, in fact, a deeper and longer history of shared culture, of shared triumphs and tragedies, of learning from past mistakes, and of a common vision for a more prosperous future for an emerging ???region-state??? built probably around the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) which groups India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, and Bhutan. Afghanistan and Iran can be brought in as observers in the first instance, and join later. Concerning the deeper and longer history, one only needs to remember, for example, that the Great Emperor Ashoka ruled a united India from his palaces both in present-day war-torn Kandahar and in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and became seduced by the peace-mission of Buddhism as a result of the massacre that he himself had committed during the war of Kalinda in present-day Orissa. Similarly, Shah Jahan???s monument of love, the Taj Mahal in Agra, is a legacy to all Indians and indeed to the world, notwithstanding the battles that Aurangzeb waged to keep India united in the face of threatening disintegration that resulted from precisely Shah Jahan???s neglect of nation-building for poetic pursuits.

With their vast accumulation of knowledge and technology, modern societies are learning, through Game Theory analyses (which are not unfamiliar to military planners despite their esoteric appearance to the uninitiated) to simulate conflicts and test conflict-resolution strategies without havin to actually resort to war. However, this is a process that unfolds in stages. On the way there are going to be inevitable mishaps, and the protagonists will stumble but still fumble along. Foreign protagonists can legitimately claim a stake in the struggle for influence, for control of resources, and for strategic alliances that are an indispensable consequence of the process of globalisation, but, when the going gets really tough, the non-regional foreign powers would do best not to force tha hnds of regionl actors but let them sort matters out, with only bona fide advice on offe

Our pundits loves to play armchair diplomats showering "lesser" countries with the gift of their wisdom from their high perches. Mr Moreau here absurdly equates world's largest democracy and a responsible member of the world community (most recently evidenced by their participation in patrolling the pirate infested waters) with a basket case hotbed of terrorism. It a generally accepted fact in the intelligence community that Pakistan's ISI is directly or indirectly linked to almost every major act of Islamic terrorism in the world for the last couple of decades. I'm surprised that Mr. Zakaria, seemingly a rather knowledgeable commentator on these matters let through this sophomoric "on-one-hand-while-on-the-other-hand" style essay assignment pass through to publication.

Also I do wish the newsweek staff would deign to participate in this forum so we know their response to all the critical comments here.

It's hard to keep reading these analyses that have failed to mention the motives of Al Queda to take the heat off their home base on the border. They are caught in a classical military maneuver, the pincer. The US and its rockets on one side and the aggressive Pakistani army on the other. What would be a good counter? Create a diversion - another classic military maneuver. It was a very low cost, low risk strategy. Send ten commandos obviously from Pakistan to an unguarded Mumbai and force India to confront Pakistan. Then Pakistan has to redeploy its army to the other side of the country.
Was it Napoleon who said the secret to success was to get the enemy to do what you wanted?
Instead, India and Pakistan should the opposite by recognizing they are being manipulated by a common enemy

Pakistani government is a terrorist. You folks have no idea about the history and you are making irrational statements. India should wage war against terrorism with full force and be prepared to apy the ultimate price.

Pakistan is dismal at controlling its' own tribal lands where fundamentalism and hatred are the true religion.
Read about terrorism in any major newspaper or media article around the world a reference to Pakistan will be found. As a US citizen, given a chance, I would never cooperate with such a nation until and unless that country can neutralize the rogue elements within its borders. The Pakistani government gave birth to these groups and for many years encouraged them to fight a low cost jihad with India in the hope of wrestling Kashmir away from India. Today these groups have gone from rogue to worse. How can India be expected to cooperate?

i wonder y pakistani blv that india is on to breaking them in to 2. Kashmir is very well an integral part of India. Y r they still cribbing over that? and how cud they think that RAW is undermining their internal secutiry when we are tackling terror inside.and when we can see these terrorists are being trained there, its really difficult to trust the country.unless and untill Pakistan take a strict and harsh step aginst ISI and LAshkar-e-Taiba,its very dificult to develop a bit of trust in bw the countries.