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Cricket massacre lays bare the flaws of a failing state

From The Sunday Times March 8, 2009 Cricket massacre lays bare the flaws of a failing stateThe Pakistan terrorist attack and its aftermath have underlined the violence and corruption at the heart of a nuclear nation “……………….

…………..Unlike Pakistan’s military rulers, Zardari has no sympathy for the militant groups, pointing out that he lost his own wife, Benazir Bhutto, to terrorism. But he heads a weak minority government in alliance with an Islamic party linked to some of them.While Pakistan remains a largely moderate country, support for militants has increased with public anger at US drone attacks in Pakistan’s tribal areas. These have killed senior Taliban or Al-Qaeda commanders but also many civilians. “Zardari may wish to be rid of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, the LeT and other affiliated terrorist groups, but he cannot afford to be seen to cave in to western and Indian pressure”, said MJ Gohel, director of the Asia Pacific Foundation. “The terrorist infrastructure is being allowed to continue functioning with only cosmetic restrictions, whose main function is to impress the US. Yet until firm action is taken and training camps are closed down, the slow collapse of the Pakistani state will continue.”………………….

If nothing works, America could be confronted with the nightmare of a nuclear-armed and fragmented Pakistan in the hands of Islamic radicals.

For years the United States has been studying how to remove or disable Pakistan’s nuclear weapons in the event of an emergency, but it is highly delicate.

Cricket massacre lays bare the flaws of a failing state – Times Online

March 8, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Pakistan, weapons and war