Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) - The recent wave of bomb attacks in Pakistan could be a counter-offensive by radical groups and pro-Taliban militants, which disapprove of policies adopted by president Pervez Musharraf considered ‘pro-West’ . Local observers say extremists object to the logistic and political support given by Pakistan to the hunt for terrorist cells in the mountain region between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and harshly criticise the government’s support for the United States of America. The most recent attack on 6 February at Islamabad airport, in which one of the attackers was killed and three members of the police were wounded, is another sign of the attempt to foment social chaos and hatred towards the present government. Security measures have been reinforced in the principal cities, and there is a state of alert as the police are looking for five terrorists said to be in Rawalpindi to carry out an attack.
In the meantime, just over the border with Afghanistan, US troops captured to suspected al Qaida militants, both Afghans, stopped in Hakimabad, province of Nangarhar.
Recently Musharraf said he was optimistic for the situation on the other border with India and the disputed region of Kashmir. India and Pakistan will hold another anti-terrorism meeting in early March in the capital of Pakistan Islamabad to resume the peace process. The Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh and president Musharraf agreed last September to appoint a standing committee for negotiations and for the fight on terrorism. (PA)(Agenzia Fides 7/2/2007 righe 26 parole 268)
