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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 3-Jul-2010
3-Jul-10 News -- Lahore bombing leaves Pakistanis confused

Web Log - July, 2010

3-Jul-10 News -- Lahore bombing leaves Pakistanis confused

Orders to US factories declined in May more than forecast

Lahore bombing raises Pakistani concerns about increasing terrorist trend

Administrative map of Pakistan, with the addition of the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), highlighting Swat Valley <font face=Arial size=-2>(Source: pakistan.gov.pk)</font>

Administrative map of Pakistan, with the addition of the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), highlighting Swat Valley (Source: pakistan.gov.pk)

Reading the news reports from Pakistan about the Thursday night bombing of the Sufi shrine in Lahore, I get no coherent message except utter confusion.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks. It was thought that perhaps Taliban militants (i.e., Pashtun Sunni Islamist terrorists from Pakistan's northwest) were responsible for the attacks. But AFP quotes Taliban leaders as denying any involvement.

A spokesman for Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) says, "We are not responsible for these attacks. This is a conspiracy by foreign secret agencies. You know we do not attack public places. We condemn this brutal act. Our target is very clear and we only attack police, army and other security personnel." Well, that's nice to know.

Eliminating TTP leaves the Sunni Islamist groups in Punjab province itself. Many of these groups were trained by Pakistan's intelligence service (ISI) in the 1980s to fight Indians in the disputed Kashmir region, but now they've turned against Pakistan itself.

The most dangerous terrorist group in Pakistan right now is Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ).

According to a BBC analysis, it's thought that LJ is responsible for this latest attack in Lahore, as well as a number of previous terrorist attacks.

The Pakistani people don't know what to believe, except that the terrorist bombings seem to be out of control. The police and security forces had promised to bring the attacks under control, and indeed, June was the first month in 18 months or so that had been free of terrorist attacks. Thus, this new attack makes it clear that the police have not yet succeeded.

Many Pakistanis blame the terrorist attacks on the United States, according to Associated Press. According to this reasoning, the terrorist group decided to blow up a Sufi shrine in Lahore because Americans were fighting a war in Afghanistan. I guess this kind of belief is no different from a Wall Street investor who believes that a price/earnings ratio of 20 means that stocks are underpriced. There's just no limit to the insane beliefs of people when they become sufficiently desperate.

The LJ group has a long history of terrorist acts against religious minorities, according to the BBC analysis. In the 1990s they mostly targeted Shia groups, but lately they've gone after even Sunni groups that didn't accept their particular forms of militant doctrine.

However, a generational change occurred after 9/11, when American air strikes destroyed most of the older leadership, allowing a younger and more dangerous generation of militants to take charge. Today they target both Shia and Sunni groups across Punjab province, and in Karachi. Their objective is to "purify" Pakistan.

From the point of view of Generational Dynamics, Pakistan and India are approaching a war refighting the genocidal ethnic and religious war that followed Partition (the partitioning of the Indian subcontinent into Pakistan and India in 1947). An increase in the level of terrorist violence in both India and Pakistan appears to be part of that scenario.

Additional links

More evidence that May was an extremely ominous month: Orders to U.S. factories declined in May more than forecast. Bloomberg

American forces are building around the Persian Gulf and in Azerbaijan, while the Saudis are cooperating with the Israelis militarily, as tensions grow over a possible military strike on Iran. Asia Times

A columnist in Egypt notes that prices of fruits, meats and vegetables are substantially lower in Gaza than they are in Cairo, despite the Israeli blockage and siege of Gaza. He asks, "What siege are they talking about? The Egyptian people should pray to Allah to smite them with such a siege!" Memri

China is planning a 24 hour/day international news channel in English, and will have an office in Times Square. NY Times

Violence continued in Kashmir on Friday as police imposed a curfew. At least 60 people were injured in clashes as people tried to defy the curfew at several places. The Hindu

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered that all state employees have their salaries cut to minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, in order to reduce the state's enormous $19.1 billion budget deficit. State Controller John Chiang has refused to comply, but on Friday a state appelate court ordered him to do so. Mercury News

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 3-Jul-10 News -- Lahore bombing leaves Pakistanis confused thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (3-Jul-2010) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 3-Jul-2010 3-Jul-10 News -- Lahore bombing leaves Pakistanis confused

Lahore bombing raises Pakistani concerns about increasing terrorist trend

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 3-Jul-2010
3-Jul-10 News -- Lahore bombing leaves Pakistanis confused