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To: Sully- who wrote (45491)	12/20/2001 9:07:39 PM
From: RR	Respond to of 65232

Hee hee hee... RR (eom)

To: Sully- who wrote (45491)	12/20/2001 11:31:36 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

The Pressure Rises in Pakistan December 20, 2001 The New York Times Gen. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan has been performing a political high-wire act since Sept. 11 by supporting the war against terrorism while trying to prevent a rebellion at home among Islamic fundamentalists angered by his rejection of the Taliban. He has succeeded thus far, but now faces new dangers created in part by his own tolerance for terrorists before Sept. 11. If he does not deal with these threats quickly and effectively, he may undermine his own rule as well as the American campaign against terrorism. General Musharraf must crack down on terrorist groups operating in his own country. Urgent action is needed after the attack last week on India's Parliament, attributed by India to militant groups in Pakistan. In addition, hundreds of Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters have slipped into Pakistan's mountainous northwestern frontier, where there is strong resistance to General Musharraf's embrace of America. Troops loyal to Osama bin Laden clashed with their Pakistani captors yesterday. American officials say that Pakistani authorities have moved in recent weeks to arrest at least some leaders of the two groups linked to the attacks in India, Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Both have claimed responsibility for past assaults in India. More needs to be done. India has connected the two groups to the attack on Parliament, which left 14 dead, including the five men who carried it out. The attack seemed intended to kill Indian lawmakers, including Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is now under pressure to retaliate. A reprisal, such as bombing terrorist sites in Pakistan, could lead to war. General Musharraf condemned the attack on Parliament, but his spokesman blithely suggested that it might have been carried out by Indian forces trying to discredit Pakistan. The Pakistan government well knows that Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba are terrorist groups. General Musharraf must not give in to the temptation to see home-grown terrorist groups as somehow more acceptable than those he has been helping to combat in Afghanistan. He faces considerable pressure within Pakistan to deal gingerly with outfits like Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba because they are hostile to India, Pakistan's antagonist. General Musharraf may also find it appealing to go easy on the groups to show he has not entirely parted company with those in Pakistan who remain sympathetic to various forms of Islamic fundamentalism, including the Taliban. Pro-Taliban sentiment is especially strong in the northwest frontier, bordering Afghanistan. General Musharraf is said to have dispatched 5,000 troops to the region, an area that historically has operated with near-autonomy among tribal groups, many of which are allied to the tribes of Afghanistan. He must ensure that these troops pursue terrorists who have fled Afghanistan, possibly including Osama bin Laden. General Musharraf made a bold decision to side with the United States after Sept. 11. In return, Pakistan has been given more than $1 billion in loans and debt relief and is likely to benefit from the influx of aid to reconstruct Afghanistan. But now that General Musharraf has turned Pakistan's foreign policies around, he has to go after the forces at home that want to keep terrorism alive, provoke a war with India and eventually unseat General Musharraf himself and make Pakistan an Islamic fundamentalist state. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company \| Privacy Information