India-Pakistan: Coping With The Curse

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May 30, 2007: Indian Maoists have a civil war on their hands, and in the last week, there have been at least a dozen casualties from factional fighting. The fighting is partly over the distribution of money collected via the extortion of local businesses and workers.

May 29, 2007: Police in Baluchistan (southwest Pakistan) raided a camp used by tribal separatists, killing four rebels. The government believes the separatist movement is broken, but there are still many of the rebels about. To the north, in the Pushtun tribal areas, a car bomb went off in front of the provincial court building, killing one and wounding eight. Further to the east, a group of Islamic terrorists attempted to sneak into Indian Kashmir. At least three were killed by Indian border guards.

May 28, 2007: Three more bombs went off in Baluchistan (southwest Pakistan), wounding three people. Tribal separatists took credit. In central India, Maoist land mines killed nine policemen.

May 27, 2007: While American businesses flock to Pakistan, the U.S. State Department again warned Americans against visiting Pakistan, because intel indicated Islamic terrorists were again about to launch attacks against American targets. As if on cue, two bombs went off in Baluchistan (southwest Pakistan), one against a police station, and the other against the state gas company. One died, and the culprits were believed to be tribal separatists.

May 26, 2007: Some Pakistani groups are willing to risk civil war, as a way to increase their power. Most political parties have to figure out who to side with, the current military dictatorship, or some new coalition. The military and security forces can potentially be split into factions that are more secular, and those that are into Islamic conservatism. So far, religion has been more of a curse, than a salvation, for Pakistan. Corruption is a constant, but religious fanaticism and terrorism has been getting worse.

May 23, 2007: In Pakistan, pro-Taliban tribesmen released eight government officials they had kidnapped five days ago. This was all about the ancient practice (in this part of the world) of taking hostages to help extort a favor from the government.