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Musharraf trying to reverse support for militants
President Gen Pervez Musharraf is attempting to reverse more than a decade of institutional and public support for Islamic militants, reports Christian Science Monitor. "Opinion is split among the Pakistani intelligence corps whether to wash their hands permanently of the freedom fighter outfits or to put a temporary lid on their activities to appease international opinion," the paper quotes Pakistani intelligence sources as saying. My guess is that they'll try and make it temporary. Given the short attention span of the rest of the world, there's every likelihood they'll be back up to speed in six months. According to the paper, those within the military favouring a temporary freeze contend militants may be needed again if the international community fails to persuade India to negotiate with Pakistan and Kashmiris to reach a political solution to the long-running dispute, which remains on the agenda of the UN Security Council. The paper estimates that between 3,000 and 5,000 motivated, hard core fighters are aligned with about a dozen Islamic groups, which have thrived on donations from the public as well as support from the Inter-Services Intelligence. In other words, they still intend to get their way, and if they can't do it by negotiations, then they'll go back to what hasn't been working, but makes their little beturbanned hearts go pitty-pat. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-06-19 |
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