The Taliban have struck again in the heart of Pakistan’s military garrison city of Rawalpindi. A Taliban suicide assault team estimated at between three to five men entered a mosque in the city and opened fire on the worshippers and detonated their vests, killing 40 and wounding 83 more. The attack killed two senior generals and wounded another.
Two of the members of the suicide assault team have been killed. The assault team was not interested in taking hostages or negotiations, according to the Pakistani military.
“They exploded bombs inside the mosque,” Major General Athar Abbas, the top military spokesman told AFP. “They opened fire on the worshippers… There is no hostage situation. Two terrorists have been killed.”
The blasts caused parts of the roof of the mosque to collapse.
The attack took place in a mosque that is used by Army officers on a day when the mosque is sure to be filled; Friday is the Muslim day of prayer.
“There were about 200 or 300 worshippers in the hall,” an eyewitness told AFP. “Army officials mostly offer their Friday prayers in this mosque.”
Major General Bilal Omar Khan, who had served as the commander of the Pakistani Rangers, Brigadier Abdul Rauf, the son of the Peshawar Corps commander, and two lieutenant colonels were killed in the attack, according to Samaa and Geo News. Many children of active military officers were killed and wounded in the bombing. General Mohammad Yousuf, the retired former Vice Chief of Army Staff, was also wounded.
The Taliban and allied terror groups have struck at the military and police forces in Pakistan’s major cities to counter the ongoing military operations in South Waziristan, Khyber, Arakzai, Kurram, and Swat.
Today’s Rawalpindi attack is the latest in a wave of Taliban violence that emerged in the beginning of October. Suicide bombers have struck in Islamabad, Peshawar, Shangla, Kohat, and Charsadda, and assault teams have targeted police in Lahore and Peshawar as well as the Army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. Just two days ago, a suicide bomber detonated outside the gate of the Naval headquarters in Islamabad.
The Oct. 10 assault on Army General Headquarters shut down Pakistan’s military command for nearly a day, as hostages were held. The Taliban are reported to have obtained sensitive data from computers and files during that assault.
The Taliban have also conducted targeted assassinations of senior military officers. Two Brigadiers have been killed and two more wounded in four separate assassination attempts in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
The Taliban have repeatedly attacked their enemies in mosques and other places of worship. There have been 19 such attacks in mosques and other Islamic institutions in Pakistan since December 2007, according to information compiled by The Long War Journal.
Major attacks at mosques, religious events, and Islamic institutions in Pakistan since December 2007:
Dec. 4, 2009: A suicide assault team stormed a mosque in Rawalpindi that is frequented by Army officers, killing 40.
Oct. 20, 2009: A pair of suicide bombers detonated their vests at Islamabad’s International Islamic University, killing five.
June 12, 2009: A suicide bomber killed five Pakistanis, including anti-Taliban cleric Dr. Sarfraz Naeemi, in an attack on a mosque in Lahore during Friday prayers.
June 12, 2009: A suicide bomber killed six worshipers and wounded more than 90 in an attack inside a mosque in Nowshera. The attack collapsed the dome of the mosque.
June 5, 2009: A suicide bomber killed 49 worshipers in an attack on a mosque in a remote village in Dir.
April 5, 2009: A suicide bomber killed 24 worshipers and wounded more than 100 in an attack outside a Shia religious center in the Chakwal district in Punjab province.
March 27, 2009: A Taliban suicide bomber killed more than 70 worshipers and wounded more than 125 in an attack at a mosque in the Khyber tribal agency.
March 5, 2009: An attacker threw a hand grenade into the middle of a mosque in Dera Ismail Khan, wounding 25 worshipers.
March 2, 2009: A suicide bomber killed six people during an attack at a gathering in a mosque in the Pishin district in Baluchistan.
Feb. 20, 2008: A suicide bomber killed 32 Pakistanis and wounded more than 85 in an attack on a funeral procession for a Shia elder who was murdered in Dera Ismail Khan.
Feb. 5, 2009: A suicide attack outside a mosque killed more than 30 Shia worshipers and wounded more than 50.
Nov. 22, 2008: A bombing at a mosque in Hangu killed five civilians and wounded seven.
Nov. 21, 2008: A suicide attack on a funeral procession in Dera Ismail Khan killed 10 mourners and wounded more than 25.
Sept. 10, 2008: The Taliban attacked a mosque filled with Ramadan worshipers in the district of Dir in northwestern Pakistan. More than 25 worshipers were killed and more than 50 were wounded.
Aug. 19, 2008: A suicide bomber killed 29 Shia mourners and wounded 35 after detonating in the emergency ward of a hospital.
June 17, 2008: Four Pakistanis were killed and three wounded in a bombing at a Shia mosque in Dera Ismail Khan.
May 19, 2008: Four Pakistanis were killed in a bombing outside a mosque in Bajaur.
Jan. 17, 2008: A suicide bomber killed 10 and wounded 25 in an attack on a Shia mosque in Peshawar.
Dec. 28, 2007: A suicide bomber detonated in the middle of a mosque in Charsadda in an attempt to kill former Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao as he conducted Eid prayers. More than 50 were killed and more than 200 were wounded.
36 Comments
Were any copies of the Koran damaged?
Should not the MSM be asking this question? If many copies have been lost, perhaps the US could offer to send some from Gitmo, as those there have been checked so often to ensure that they are undamaged.
When will Pakistan get sympathy for all it has suffered in this War on Terrorism? 5 people die in Israel and the destruction of Lebanon is warranted, yet thousands have died in Pakistan and you people say nothing. I hope with all my heart that the Pakistani Army wipes out the Taliban, but I am sick of the hypocrisy coming from the west in regards to Pakistan and Muslims.
We’ll take your grievances under advisement Ali and give them all due consideration.
Take out your garbage sir.
Aziz sahib, sympathy from some faraway media outlets is neither here nor there. The real question is when the permanent establishment IN Pakistan will decide this is a life and death struggle that cannot be won without a clear idea of who is fighting whom. I say this because the ISI’s favorite media organs (ahmed qureshi, zaid hamid, etc) are still spewing all sorts of confusion about hindu-jewish conspiracies and American intentions. If they are so sure of that, why not split with the US and at least make things clear? WITH clarity, this will be a difficult struggle. Without clarity, we are sunk. (and please note that I am not saying the army has to apologise for training and arming these madmen in the first place; let bygones be bygones).
Ali,
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When will Pakistan get sympathy for all it has suffered in this War on Terrorism?
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I can’t answer that question until you answer my question.
When will Pakistan treat it as an actual War rather than selective battles against the Bad Taliban?
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5 people die in Israel and the destruction of Lebanon is warranted, yet thousands have died in Pakistan and you people say nothing.
That is incorrect because the U.S. and most of the rest of the world has said plenty over the years, it is that Pakistan didn’t listen.
Pakistan has been told numerous times to stop making Peace Deals and to do some serious reform – improvement in its educational system.
From what I have seen, Pakistan has been slow to recognize the folly of making Peace Deals and the needed reform in the educational system hasn’t happened.
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I hope with all my heart that the Pakistani Army wipes out the Taliban, but I am sick of the hypocrisy coming from the west in regards to Pakistan and Muslims.
That is a start by your usage of the word Taliban rather than TTP and/or the Foreign Hand that I see on most Pakistani media sites and other areas on the Web dominated by Pakistanis. Now we shall see if the Pakistani Army will do as you have hoped for.
The chicken has come home to roost. Ali, Pakistan has been training, sheltering & pushing Jehaadis into India for Long. This radicalisation of society wherein every problem, If it is economic is answered as the will of Allah and everry economic problem has to be ‘Endured in the way to fight the Kuffra hindu India’ by the poor populace.
The only investment Pakistani state has done in creating terrorist infrastructure and spewing jehadi ideology. In a nation where Zaid Hamid kind of lunatics with no intelligence and only full of hatred are the norm, State abdicates it’s responsibilities for welfare in the name of Allah’s will.
While India being 7 times larger has only 1.2 million army with 2 hostile neighbours, Why does pakistan need .55 Milllion army for 1/7 land area? NO land refroms and 40 families practically own the agricultural land of pakistan. these families own more than 4000 acre each. Where will poor landless go? In India one can not hold more than 14 acres.
Defense budget is 9% of GDP Pakistan , while in India it is 2.4% of GDP b’cos we need to uplift our people from poverty and desperation.
The hatred filled society will only get you more hatred. THis mad race of pure islam and more islam will lead to this bloodshed. Who will decide that you are pure enough? Obviously the guy with gun and state that has nurtured these yahoos to fight India, Israel can not get them back in bottle. Nations can not be built on religion, it takes much more.
First of all, stop this ‘strategic asset theory’. Prosecute Haffiz Saed for Mumbai massacre and deliver a message that nonsense will not be tolerated and this selective punishment theory shd go away. Stop the massacre of pashtoons. Thye are your own people. You guys use Artllery & Heli gunships on your own population in Pashtoonkhwa and Baluchistan. This is genocide.
Engage people and provide them stake in governance.
Don’t the Pakistani elite have good taliban/ bad taliban theory? So, was it done by the good taliban or the bad taliban?
Ali,
Sympathies are there, without qualifications.
What remains to be seen is whether your country’s military establishment will take on terrorists of all hue, including the “good” Taliban
Or will they blame this on a RAW/CIA/Mossad conspiracy and continue their support to the Quetta Shura, the Haqqanis and Hafiz Saeeds
Give back the F-16’s, the Cobra gun ships, the billions of dollars of hypocrisy. Or stop your squealing and crying. We do not want to hear it. Either stand up and fight or get out of the way.
Funny you should mention Israel, isn’t it? No, it’s not funny at all. Stop killing Jews and there will be peace in that region, is that too difficult a concept to comprehend?
ROCKET
SCIENCE,
R
The man has a point gentlemen. To laud Israel but poo-poo the Pakistanis is pathetic on our part. We must be fair.
As such, one should hold no punches with Israel. Thus, continue to rail against stupid behavior on the part of Pakistan, but also give fair criticism of what Israel does as well.
But Ali, complaining does not solve the deficiencies of certain Pakistani institutions that have caused a great deal of this trouble. Most, if not all criticism of Pakistan is legit.
It seems to me that the people, military, and intelligence apparatus are getting hit with the clue bat. This is a fiasco of their own making.
You know real “you reap What? you sow” “You made your bed and now you have to lie in it stuff.”
With Israel the big problem is the pathetic Palestinians and the rabidly anti-semitic Arabs and Persians.
Ali,
like everyone said, west already advised pakistan to take actual actions against Taliban b4 they get to the situation where it is now, however Pakistan Govt was opimistic that Taliban can be used as a force to defuse a threat from nighbooring countries, in addition, certain people in Pak army was supply Taliban with ammos,training and consultant, we all have seen news reports mentioning Pakistan army officer resigning from the army and joining Taliban lines.
When would this situation be resolved?
I think it could be contained as soon as Pakistan Govt believes that Taliban are a destructive force to its country rather then friendly.
It sometimes amuses me to see that the very people who trained, armed and radicalized the arab MUJAHIDEEN and afghan MUJAHADEEN put all the blame on pakistan.
Yes pakistanis used them to achieve albeit unsuccessfully its objectives while at the same time us acheived its targets with the same people.
Pakistan is learning the hard way that the good/bad philosophy serves it no purpose when the superpower is bent on killing them. But to see the world blame pakistan for what it has not started nor no longer control is a lesson in REAL POLITICS for all the people of pakistan
Nazir:
Trained, armed and radicalized the Arab MUJAHIDEEN and afghan MUJAHADEEN were part of a global endeavor to prevent unauthorized progressive occupation of certain Unions, all those efforts were only to bring peace and as you are well aware the result was successful by 1992.There was peace in the region by 1992.
The aftermath of victory (with all resources and assets over millions of dollars) was left to the hands of Pak Govt but Pak did not stay committed and flexible to its decisions and approach as agreed by allies.
As we all know of some mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain.
Pak was the first country who recognized Taliban Govt as legitimate and was persuading world to legalized Taliban Govt which it failed eventually.
Now poor innocent people suffering the pain from their Govt being greedy, there is still time to end this situation if Pak Govt comes to its senses and cease being optimistic of Taliban friendshiop.
What you see right now is the result of overwhelming greedy of Pak Govt.
Ali:
In a broad sense, sympathies are there for any loss of life (human, sub-human, animal or taliban). Pakistan is fighting a war and these attacks are expected. This is “The Ground Hog Day” for Pakistan… will they turn it in to ‘lesson learned’ and start doing some good and be Pure or blame US/Israel/India and move on to next plotting as a revenge, needs to be seen.
Sympathizing is an act just like supporting jihadis is an act. Former is a natural reaction to any loss of life and latter is unnatural, self-destructive habit. Which one would your society continues to choose?
Tayyab ji, Yesterday, the “brothers”
And Tayyab ji, your attempt at passing the blame entirely to the US is not going to work. Let me give you an alternative history of this terrorist menace:
The international Islamist terrorists are a loose but interconnected network of Islamists who came together in Pakistan during and after the Soviet occupation and mostly functioned under the supervision of (sympathetic) Pakistani army officers.
The army high command completely succumbed to a relatively small number of Jihadi officers (due, in my opinion, to the extraordinary incompetence of our senior officers and the terribly short sighted decision to educate them in National Defence College, where they picked up notions of “strategy”
Eric,
Radicalization and arming of the MUJAHIDEEN did serve the global endeavor of preventing unauthorized progressive occupation of certain Unions but it never brought peace to the region. Pakistan made an effort to bring peace to the region by the formation of taliban for the broader national objective of settled frontiers and access to central asia and it succeeded. World did not like taliban for the radical version of islam they practiced but world could have lived with it subjected to national interests ( read US/Saudi Arab relations) but once taliban/alqaeda attacked west all hell broke loose.
As for the MUJAHADEEN jihad never ended. They defeated an infidel out of a muslim country and it was the turn of the whole muslim world to be liberated of the infidels. ( read US army in Saudi Arab/ India in Kashmir/ Russia in Chechnya/ Israel in Middle Easet and the list goes on.) Now these very people who fought JIHAD in afghanistan are the spearhead of every TERRORIST organization and these were Trained, armed and radicalized by the west, so why put all the blame on pakistan. Yes pakistan used them in kashmir for so called liberation as the world used them for so called peace which NEVER arrived in the region but on its own pakistan could never have started the kashmir LIBERATION. It did not do it in 40 years since separation and was in no position to do it but for the support provided by west.
Omar
Points you made are valid but my point was that the world community should not shun its responsibility for what is happening in the region by laying the blame squarely on pakistan. Being from lower middle class and spending most of my life in hotbeds of radicalization I know how we got to where we are today. I know the extent of support provided by the military and the role AFGHAN JIHAD played in it. I studied from the same university Hafiz Saeed of LET taught and he used to frequent it and though LET supporters may toot he did not had a global agenda and hence nothing against the army. That is the reason army still has a soft spot for him but for the rest we are in a state of war with them now at last and hopefully if the west does not abort the region after the destruction of alqaeda and the formation of a government of convenience in afghanistan (read ethnic conflicts) we may be able to get rid of them once for all.
I say this as an observant Muslim who supports the Kashmiri righ to self-determination and the nation of Pakistan. Pakistan needs to take the gloves off and pass strict Anti-Terror legislation and create Anti-Terror courts that will fast track trial and execution for terrorists, financiers of terror, and most importantly the seditious, treasonous clerics who has alinged themselves with foreign Arab terror-masters who have been funding chaos in Pakistan for over the past 20 years.
Loss of innocent lives is a monumental tragedy – period, regardless of geography, ethnicity or religion. Whist discussing policy, apportioning blame, venting anger / frustration – being ‘civilised’ dictates that we ‘commiserate’ and be humane.
Ali,
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When will Pakistan get sympathy for all it has suffered in this War on Terrorism? 5 people die in Israel and the destruction of Lebanon is warranted, yet thousands have died in Pakistan and you people say nothing.
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The Beast Within
It is of course ironic that the killing took place during Friday prayers – marring an occasion that is most sacred to Muslims. The men behind it clearly have no faith, no morals and no humanity. Yet, despite this, condemnation from our religious leaders has been muffled. We have not heard the kind of outcry that would be expected. Such acts of course can never be condoned. We should all ask ourselves what we can do to protest against them more strongly and urge all those with any kind of influence in society to do the same.
Why aren’t the Religious Leaders of Pakistan getting out front and actively speaking out against this bloodshed? You have no problem coming to this web site complaining about those in the West not showing enough sympathy – concern, yet there are noted members in your own country that appear to be indifferent to the problems.
You came here and complained about the West and your perception of a lack of sympathy for events in Pakistan, but you should also complain about the Religious Leaders of Pakistan for being indifferent about the matter.
I want to ask a very simple pronlem,why suddenly taliban cause so many Terrorist attacks to pakistan since afghan war? and since afghan war happened,why taliban still be so strong?the war did not wipe out Terrorists but caused more attack to this area.let foreign army leave,local people can solve their own problems.
PakistaniPatriot,
If you want to try and punish those supporting Taliban and their friends, I think you need to punish a large number of high ranking officer both in the Army and ISI.
I don’t think that’s practical.
Ali,
I have sympathy, compassion for every innocent child, woman and man in your country affected by your brutal Taliban or by your brutal Pak army, the orignal masters of the Taliban, their “students”.
Where were you when Pakistan was creating and funding terrorists perpetrating violence in Kashmir?
Where were you when Pak was creating the Taliban and remained its main sponsor for a period of over 7 yrs?
Where were you when your country along with only 2 other countries, Arab, gave the Taliban ‘govt’ recognition?
Where were you when over all these decades your country refused to evolve and grow-up and preferred your brutal and ignorant army to rule you?
Where were you when your politicians had a chance to change things preferred to be self-serving and enrich themselves?
Where were you when your military similarly took corruption to new heights and started playing the business game like a mafia?
And all this despite 1971!?
One cannot sympathise with the country Pakistan for one doesn’t know what it means. One observes a fragmented country, in every sense, that has descended into civil war that has long been in the making.
One can appreciate your sentiments about the Pak Army wiping out the Taliban. Unfortunately, i fear that your army itself may fragment (along good and bad lines?) before they have renounced sleeping with the good taliban.
They have cheated you, deceived you and mislead you not for years but for decades. In fact for most of Pakistan’s ‘waking’ life. I really wonder how they can suddenly LEAD you out of this mess.
They are not after a monthful of Rawalpindi/Islamabad bombings suddenly going to come clean alongwith your politicians and announce to the world “WE HAVE BEEN WRONG FOR DECADES IN SPONSORING TERRORISM. WE ARE GOING TO STOP BEING HYPOCRITES. WE HAVE A GREATER RESPONSIBILITY TO ALL THE PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN, TO OUR NEIGHBORS AND TO THE WORLD. WE ARE GOING TO HUNT DOWN EVERY BARBARIAN FROM OBL TO THE LAST SUICIDE TRAINER AND ROGUE CLERIC.”
Please understand, i am saying they are not going to do it. Your (mis)leaders are part of your inert establishment and simply not upto it. But you can take a different view of your own hypocrisy. If each Pakistani could do that….
Then maybe, as Omar ji has said as one alternative, “we have to take on the jihadist network by working WITH the Americans, the Afghans, the Indians and so on.” when you just might be able to sort out this mess once and for all.
But this calls for a revolution (they have happened before you know).
PS Most of all i have sympathy for the simple innocent villagers–children, women, men who live on both sides of the border in the beautiful, if sometimes rugged, countryside in this region.
Billy Liu, i want to ask you a very simple question, why don’t you do that in Tibet?
Tayyab said
“But to see the world blame pakistan for what it has not started nor no longer control is a lesson in REAL POLITICS for all the people of pakistan ”
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Without for one second, agreeing with the first part of your statement (blame pakistan for what it has not started), i agree with the last part on the lesson to be learnt.
Question: But have you learnt this lesson?
Poor Pakistan hasn’t had many years of civilian politics in all its history has it? How many duly elected democratic govts in pak have actually served out a full-term in all your history?
How much REAL POLITICS experience did pak have before it started to prop up the Taliban (students) as a Govt in neighboring sovereign Afghanistan?
So with strategic-depth rebounding and blowing back in its face with fire (this story) has Pak actually learnt this lesson?
Pak’s ‘students’, the Taliban, have learnt very well and are using Pakistan sovereign territory as their strategic depth in their fight against ISAF in Afghanistan.
Now the military/isi combine has more experience in autocratic politics. The question is, will it divide itself as good/bad in the same way as the army divides the taliban and other terror groups like the LET as good/bad. Btw in your response to Omar are you suggesting that you may also rid of the LET?
Just one word of caution: Could it be that pakistan society places too much importance on its (corrupt and politicised) army? After all it has never really won a war in its life. Personally at this time, i look at them as a mighty large group of plodders. The real war is still to begin so i think pak has some REAL MILITARY LESSONS yet to learn too.
For starters, you may do well to actually work with your allies than in the middle of your war still be talking about apportioning blame. Thats what makes one believe that you’re not really serious.
Omar sahib, respect for your clarity and objectivity.
Is their a movement towards clearer thinking amongst the urban intelligentsia? Do you reckon Pak will reach a critical-mass of a tipping point?
Is the present leadership (civil and military) upto it or are they a weak link in the process?
So many imponderables, but, your point about clarity as the starting point rings true.
American’s created an EVIL to break the mighty Russian empire. When they achieved their objectives they left the evil intact hoping it won’t come to them.
These people were the worriors of islam 30 years back, now they are the greatest evil. Its just the media war where the Americans are very good. (In the last three decades they did nothing wrong)Either its the Russians or the Pakistanies who are wrong.
What you sow so shall you reap. Now THIS EVIL will suck the American’s blood. Pakistani people feel that they are simply draged into this war which was not their’s. First they were told that if you won’t stand now Russia will occupy you and now……..
@TAYYAB NAZIR,
SO TAYYAB, WHAT I UNDERSTAND FROM YOUR POST IS AS A LONG AS ONE KILLS INDIANS AND AMERICANS IT IS OK. THAT IS WHAT ONE CAN INFER FROM YOUR COMMENTS REGARDING THE LASHKAR E TAIBA.
THANKS,
YASH.
Mirza, Are Pakistanis Army Generals & establishment also returning billion of dollars to American/Western Tax payers, F-16s, apachess & other military hardware including the payment for nuclear Bombs & its safety & delivery. The money Pakis receieved is for playing as an American Proxy. So please do not vhinge. There will be no such thing as Pakistan on map of world if it was not for US military & financial help.
T Ruth,
There is a definite realization among Pakistanis that this disease is now out of control and threatening our own existence. There is still a great deal of confusion about “Jewish-Hindu plots” and other nonsense but I submit that the responsibility for this widespread confusion rests with the Army and the elite, not with the poor people of Pakistan. People all over the world (mostly) trust their army and follow the lead of national security opinion makers and Pakistani people are no different. If the vast PR apparatus of the army is still spreading confusion about “indian agents in FATA’ and the state has NEVER clearly told its own people that PAKISTANI terrorists attacked Mumbai and killed a 170 innocents, then its no wonder that ordinary people are not clear about who is fighting whom. TV channels are still full of the most absurd conspiracy theories (check out Zaid Hamid on youtube…btw, his show is on the network owned by the army’s favorite ad agency interflo) and it is a tribute to the innate common sense of the Pakistani people that they are not even MORE confused than is the case.
But I have hope all this will change. The army, at the end of the day, knows which side its bread is buttered. Some of its more moronic (or ideologically committed) officers may wish to keep the taliban and the jihadis in reserve for the day when America leaves, but THE JIHADIS will not behave and will not follow any reasonable script and will FORCE the army to finally take a stand against them. Its going to be a painful road, with many twists and turns, but I am hopeful that in the end the jihadi faction of the army will be tamed and genuine democracy will take hold in Pakistan. It can be done….The alternative is chaos and destruction.
Mizra – No. America did not “create” that evil. That evil had already been present in the region long before the Russians arrived in Afghanistan. At worst, America helped Pakistan to exploit an evil that already existed.
Pakistan created the Taliban and LeT from whole cloth long after the Russians and Americans had left.
America had/has no responsibility to rid Pakistan of its own homegrown evil, then or now.
Mizra – You would be a lot more unhappy if America did to Pakistan what America has done to Iraq, wouldn’t you? Do you really want us to rid you of your own evil? We can do that, you know. Or we can let the Indians finish what Pakistan has started.
Do you really want America and or India to clean up your own mess in your own house? Or will you clean it yourself?
TEN
CARRIERS,
R
Mr. MalangJan
You provided F-16s, arms and you wrote cheques. That’s the whole point I was trying to make. Writing cheques is only acknowledgement who the perpetrator of crime is, it never shifts the onus of crime on other. This EVIL with which the Pakistanis are confronting is not theirs it’s Americans’.
And Mr Render: You are so naïve that you or Indians can get rid of things. You are going nuts just to tackle these illiterate tribal people. And your statements are the true representative of where to look for all the present and future bloodshed on this earth.
Since this seems to be a moment of epiphanies, I should like to point out that (not withstanding the RELATIVE noise level RE: the Israelis) if the sympathy were proportional to western casualties of 34 million in WWI and 54 million in WWII, not a drop of ink yet be spilled yet for what the Pakistanis have suffered.
My point is, we in the west know what self-annihilation looks like. You in the Muslim world can’t seem to get your heads around it yet. If Iran keeps screwing around with nukes this may well change.
I hope the moderate Muslims will cleanse their world of heretics who promote the slaughter of anyone and everyone in the name of God, because if the west is ever provoked enough to do it for you Islam may well lose 10% of its membership in an instant. We have the power. We also have the hard-earned restraint. The power-drunken murders wrapping themselves in robes in Qme seem not to. This is not a recipe for a happy ending.
One hopes the Muslim world would not have to experience their near-annihilation to attain a cultural understanding of modern war. At present, this seems unlikely.
We in Pakistan do not need any sympathy. It s of our own doing. A simple solution to this rabid menance. Arm yourself to teeth and kill them all when the come howling. Atleast I am ready.
I can’t speak for Indian history, but I can point out that the United States has gotten rid of a lot of genocidal “things”