A little context
Amir Taheri notes that the attacks in Mumbai came hard on the heels of a dramatic change in policy announced in Pakistan a week ago:
Pakistan President Assif Ali Zardari announced his readiness to settle the dispute with India over Kashmir, promising an end to a conflict that has led to four wars and countless terrorist campaigns over the past 50 years. On Wednesday, terror organizations that do not wish the Kashmir problem to be solved offered their opinion of such a shift, in the form of a series of coordinated attacks against sensitive targets in Bombay (Mumbai), India’s business capital and the engine of its recent economic takeoff.
The message was clear: Even if Pakistan scales back its old policy of backing terrorist groups in the name of liberating the Muslims of Kashmir, radical Islamists are capable of continuing the low-intensity war that has cost India billions of dollars and thousands of lives.
The attacks in Bombay likely were carried out by Hindi-speaking, homegrown Islamists with possible links to elements within the Pakistani intelligence community who have built their careers and personal fortunes around the Kashmir issue. These elements are serving notice that they would resist Zardari’s dramatic departure from a long-established policy of enmity against India.
While the attacks, which claimed more than 100 lives, may have been addressed to Zardari, their primary target was India. India is home to nearly 200 million Muslims, making it one of the world’s largest “Muslim” countries. Until recently, however, a majority of Indian Muslims have steered clear of radical politics. Apart from the issue of Kashmir, which has at times turned them against the authorities in New Delhi, most Indian Muslims have been loyal to the Indian republic, appreciating its secular and democratic nature. India is the only country that allows its Muslim minority to apply the rules of Sharia (Islamic cannon law) to a range of issues of private life.
Walid Phares has a somewhat similar view: “Jihadis in Pakistan have been under pressure, especially under the new President, because of the ongoing military operations in Waziristan. The jihadis’ strategic objective was to break down the rapprochement between India and Pakistan. If that happens, Pakistan will be forced to pull back units operating against the Taliban and move them to the border with India.” Not an unreasonable, if wicked, plan.