Urgent need to re-evaluate threat to Pakistan: Dawn editorial

Islamabad, Dec.3 : The lacklustre approach by the Pakistan Government and provincial adminsitrations to dealing with militancy and insurgency has led analysts and experts to suggest that in the wake of the terror attacks in Mumbai and the volatile situation prevailing on Pakistan's borders with Afghanistan, there is a need for a major rethink on threat perceptions and strategic orientations.

According to an editorial in the Dawn, Pakistan is caught in the eye of the storm in the so-called war on terror between the US and its allies on one side and Al Qaeda and the Taliban on the other.

"Due to America's faulty strategy in Afghanistan, the US and its allies have not been able to eliminate Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. In fact the conflagration has reached dangerous proportions and can threaten the whole region. Sensing failure other regional powers have been advancing their own agendas in Afghanistan," the ediorial opines. The fallout from the situation in Afghanistan on Pakistan, the only Muslim nuclear state and one with a weakening system of governance, not only has the potential to destabilise the Pakistani state but also carries dangerous implications for South Asian peace and security, it adds.

It further goes on to say that it is unfortunate that Pakistan's rulers are underestimating the gravity of the situation and have not worked out an effective strategy to deal with it.

It says that it is apparent that the rules of engagement are simple and clear.

Society leaders dare not speak out against Al Qaeda or the Taliban in the NWFP.

It also claims that many think tanks, even in the US, feel that this so-called war on terror is more of a ploy and the real intentions lie somewhere else. They feel that the US has no intention of pulling out of this area in the immediate future for other strategic reasons.

With this great game unfolding in Afghanistan, Pakistan should understand the implications. After all the operations by the local Taliban in Pakistan need finances and meticulous planning. Ignorance can be a blessing but not always," the ediorial says.

"In view of these circumstances there is an urgent need for a re-evaluation of the threat that Pakistan is facing on its western and eastern borders," it concludes.

ANI