Asia Times: Pakistan church attack 'aimed at US'


	March 19, 2002	atimes.com

India/Pakistan

Pakistan church attack 'aimed at US'
By Muddassir Rizvi

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's military government looks unnerved in the wake of the killing of five people, including two Americans, in Sunday's grenade attack on a church in the tightly secured diplomatic enclave in the capital.

The incident is a timely reminder to the men in uniform that their war against Islamic extremism is far from being won.

Although a wave of sectarian violence has left more than 30 people dead in various parts of the country over the past few weeks, it was the killing of two Americans - the wife and a daughter of an American diplomat - that has outraged Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf, who said that the attack was aimed at Pakistan's efforts to combat terrorism. However, he declared that Pakistan would continue to make efforts to break these vicious and violent networks, following his policy in announcing the crackdown in January.

Pakistan put its military and police on high alert on Monday, increasing the already tight security at Islamabad diplomatic missions and churches after the attack on a Protestant congregation that also left more than 45 people - most of them foreigners - injured. Ten Americans were among the injured, along with 12 Pakistanis, five Iranians, as well as Iraqis, Ethiopians, Sri Lankans, Afghans, Swiss, Britons, Australians, Canadians and one German, police said.

A high-ranking US State Department official cut short her India visit to travel to Pakistan. Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca arrived in Islamabad on Monday, but the US embassy declined to reveal any details about her plans. Rocca compared the attack to the September 11 ones on America. "Six months ago the terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center slaughtered innocent people from over 80 nations," she said in a statement. "Sunday's attack in Islamabad was also against innocent individuals from many countries, this time joined together in prayer."

The fact that the unidentified terrorists could get through a tight security cordon around what was considered the most secure place in the country is itself a point of embarrassment for the military rulers, and points at massive loopholes in the law enforcement networks. As it is, security has been reinforced to preempt sectarian clashes between minority Shi'ite and majority Sunni communities in the holy month of Moharram. "We are talking about a breach in layers and layers of security. Either the attackers were too smart and well planned or they had support from 'within'. We are looking into all aspects," commented a police official, requesting not to be named.

Musharraf called a meeting on Monday with top military commanders to review Pakistan's overall security. A second high-level meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.

More serious, however, is the admission on the part of the government that the attack might have been the work of Islamic extremist groups facing immense pressure following the official crackdown to root out militancy. "I guess it is people who want to give a message to the West and who are against this war on terrorism ... they are perturbed against very strong policies pursued by President Musharraf on this issue," the country's powerful Home Minister Moinuddin Haider said in a televised interview. "So, obviously these people may have indulged in this attack."

The crackdown against extremism that followed Musharraf's much-publicized promises in mid-January to root out Islamic militancy has so far seen the arrests of more than 2,000 workers of banned jihadist and sectarian groups. However, the absence of evidence against most of the arrested men has forced the government to offer a general amnesty for the religious "terrorists" now in jail.

Except for the kidnapping and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, there has, however, been no action or response from the banned groups that could have been called a backlash - until Sunday, when they appeared in the most unexpected place.

Some agree with the official line that the attack was the first signs of a backlash against the government's anti-extremism posture. However, many say that it was not a simple attack against a church or Christians but a link in the chain of strikes against Americans and US interests in Pakistan, and probably a symbolic protest against the military rulers' close cooperation with the United States.

Najum Mushtaq, an analyst with International Crisis Group, said that the impression that the attack was a backlash against the government's policies is a bit misplaced. "The attack should be viewed as part of continuous anti-American, West-specific militancy in the country," he stressed. "This government has committed itself to taking on the terrorists. But, so far, it is more of a posturing to appease the United States than an earnest bid to combat militancy in the name of Islam.

"Fear of a backlash is no excuse for giving the terrorists a free hand to operate wherever they like, this time in the heart of Pakistan's most heavily guarded diplomatic enclave. The Musharraf government has serious questions to answer here. Rather than a backlash, it is the result of a lack of effective and decisive measures to enforce the law and punish the militants," Mushtaq said.

Americans and US interests have in the past been a target of right-wing extremists in Pakistan. The killing of two American staffers of the US consulate general in Karachi in 1995 followed the extradition to the United States of Ahmed Yusuf Ramzi in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Similarly, four American officials of Union Texas were murdered in 1997 after a US court handed down the death penalty on none Aimal Kansi for the assassination of two Central Intelligence Agency officials in Langley, Virginia. In 1999, the American Embassy and the American center were attacked with rockets by unidentified men.

In fact, one press report links the latest grenade attack with the ongoing investigation and indications of the possible extradition of Omar Saeed Sheikh, who is being held by Pakistani intelligence agencies for the murder of Daniel Pearl. "Several times during his interrogation or during his chit-chat with police officials in Karachi, Sheikh Omar had claimed that his associates would react to his extradition to the United States," writes Kamran Khan of the English-language The News daily, quoting intelligence sources.

"The attack on the Protestant International Church was more of an anti-US terrorist strike than an attack on church goers ... the attackers had definite information that the US diplomatic community in Islamabad visits this church for Sunday service," he said. "If they wanted to attack a Sunday church service, there were many less secured targets available all over the country."

In October, 16 Christian worshippers were killed during a Sunday service in the Pakistani city of Bahawalpur, an attack the government had blamed on "trained terrorists" - one alleged attacker was killed in a recent encounter with police.

Interestingly, the military government, in a total departure from past policy, has not tried to blame a "foreign hand" or India for the attack. In fact, Musharraf's press secretary, Major-General Rashid Qureshi, told the press that he would not comment on a possible Indian connection since the government had no such proof.

However, a few politicians, who are racing to show loyalty to the military government to increase their winning chances in the October elections, repeated the old mantra. "RAW [the Indian intelligence agency] is responsible for the attack. They want to divert the attention of the international community from the Hindu-Muslim riots in India," commented Mian Azhar, who heads the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam), a breakaway wing of former premier Nawaz Sharif's party.

But other groups were more cautious in their response. "It seems some evil forces are trying to trigger a clash of civilizations by targeting people of different faiths," a self-exiled chairperson said in a statement. "The people of Pakistan will have to reject the politics of hate and intolerance."

(Inter Press Service)