'President Musharraf has so far been reluctant to take concrete steps to rein in jihadists that fight in Kashmir, mainly because his government believes the militancy is Islamabad's only way to keep pressure on India and to force New Delhi's hand in
AlthoughPakistan is not solely responsible for the increased Taliban attacks,it could help to stem them by denying Taliban forces rest and safeharbor on Pakistani soil. Washington should therefore make the issue ofdenying terrorists safe haven in the border areas a focal point of itspartnership with Pakistan. The importance of denying terrorists safehaven as part of an overall counterterrorism strategy is welldocumented. In its July 2004 report, the National Commission onTerrorist Attacks Upon the United States highlighted the need todevelop a “realistic strategy to keep possible terrorists insecure andon the run.” [4] The March 2006 National Security Strategy says that “we must prevent terrorists from exploiting ungoverned areas,”[5]and the 2005 State Department counterterrorism report indicates that“[d]enying terrorists safe haven plays a major role in underminingterrorists’ capacity to operate effectively, and thus forms a keyelement of U.S. counterterrorism strategy.” [6]
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2005 | |
July 5 | Five militants attack the site of the destroyed Babri mosque and the Ram Janambhoomi in Ayodhya |
July 13 | Explosions on trains in Uttar Pradesh kill 13 people |
Oct 29 | Bombings in two New Delhi market places days before the Hindu festival of Diwali kill 59 people and injure at least 200 |
2006 | |
March 7 | Bombings in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi kill 28 people and injure more than 100 |
July 11 | A series of explosions rock commuter trains in Mumbai killing at least 200 people and injuring approximately 700 |
Sept 8 | At least two bomb blasts at a Muslim cemetery in the western town of Malegaon kill 37 people and wound 125 |