Tensions rise as Pakistan moves troops

But any such move will play well in Pakistan. Habib Zade, a social worker based near Mardan, says some people in the area are pleased to see the Army go. "They're glad that finally after so much fighting between ourselves, we have a common enemy to fight," he says.

Nasir Khan, a farmer, is not so sure that redeployment is a good thing. "Who's to say that the Taliban won't just start coming back down here again," he worries.

The fact is, neither Pakistan nor India has the political security to offer an olive branch to the other, says Shuja Nawaz, author of "Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army and the Wars Within."

"Weak governments are worried about being perceived as even weaker," he says. "This is more about domestic politics than anything else."

As a result, each government has failed to reach out to the other. Today, India and Pakistan are holding essentially to the same lines they set forth in the days after the attacks – India demanding that Pakistan take action against a list of alleged terrorists, and Pakistan saying India has given no evidence of their guilt.

With no movement diplomatically, tensions have slowly escalated. Pakistan's apparent decision to redeploy some troops to the Indian border follows Indian jets reportedly violating Pakistani airspace on Dec. 13.

Pakistan has used India's refusal to rule out military strikes "to whip up war hysteria," which, in turn, antagonizes India, says Mr. Rashid. "We're in a very vicious cycle."

It is this cycle that the international community seeks to break. The US and Britain have shared evidence with Pakistan linking the Mumbai terrorists to Pakistan, according to a report in The News, a Pakistani daily. Pakistani officials have said the evidence would not be admissible in court, the paper says.

Perhaps more significantly, a host of other nations are also becoming more involved in trying to calm the two nuclear-armed rivals.

• Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi called his counterparts in both India and Pakistan late last week, saying they should "properly handle" the situation.

• Saudi Arabia's foreign minister was in New Delhi this weekend to be briefed on India's claims that Pakistanis were behind the Mumbai attacks.

• On Saturday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to ask for his support in pressuring Pakistan.

• Also Saturday, Russia, a longtime ally of India, issued a statement, saying it was "extremely concerned" about the tensions.

Within Pakistan, there are signs that some Pakistanis are also concerned about the growing focus on India. Militants along the Afghan border killed 23 in northwestern Pakistan Sunday, the latest in a string of such attacks.

In an editorial, the influential newspaper Dawn wrote: "[Pakistan] just cannot afford to redeploy any large number of its troops on the eastern border, leaving the 'wild' west in a free fall."

Previous

1 | 2