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Answer/ Let me begin my talk by condoling with the Czech people the death of their worthy ambassador to Pakistan. We all have are mourning the terrible loss of valuable life and property of our loved ones and let us hope that the perpetrators of this cowardly act will not go unpunished. It is too early for any credible information on the actual culprit. The government is expected to come up with an initial report in the next 24 hours. That is expected to give us the government’s piece of mind. However there are some serious pointers. First it was a suicide attack. Two, the explosives used in the past are of the nature that have been used in the past by Al Qaeda. Three, that it was the day when the country’s new President addressed a joint session of the parliament. But this is also where things get a bit difficult to understand. The President in his speech minced no words while warning the foreign forces in the region that any further infringement of Pakistan’s sovereignty will not be tolerated. This should have been music to the ears of the extremists, if the American suspicions of the Al Qaeda presence in Waziristan were to be taken seriously, why then would such an operation be carried out. You see this clearly bolsters the case of the US forces and not Pakistan or the victims of the US attacks across border. Please bear in mind that this is the month of Ramadan considered sacred by all Muslims and it isn’t easy for even terrorists to justify such acts during this month. Likewise only a few days ago there were bomb blasts in India. The hostility between the intelligence agencies of the two countries is such that whenever there is a bomb blast in one, a tit for tat response comes in the shape of blasts in the other. Yet this is mere background information meant to understand an investigator’s dilemma. Otherwise, unless we believe that somehow the US intelligence agencies and forces, Indian clandestine operations and Al Qaeda and other terrorists are by any means connected through some secret arrangement, and saying so would be tantamount to indulging in conjectural conspiracy theories, let it suffice to say that the attacks bear marks of an Al Qaeda operation.

Answer/ The latter I believe. Indeed I have seen the reports in the western press claiming that some CIA operatives were the target. Unfortunately I have failed to ascertain the presence of any CIA operatives in the vicinity. I am afraid that such a presence would be downright stupid for the said hotel has been attacked in the past too and placing its valuable assets at such a place be absolutely foolish by any intelligence agency’s standards. It seems to me that the message was in clear terms meant for the new President. You are right that he faces great challenges ahead but don’t forget that with each challenge comes an opportunity. You are right in saying that after a decade long media trial he is not quite popular with the establishment or other conservatives but it seems likely that if he succeeds in selling the idea to the people that it is our war then he will certainly become an important opinion leader and statesman. As someone who has studied his political moves with keen interest recently I have the confidence that if anyone can do it, it is he. The army still is not in position to risk another military takeover hence nothing negative is expected to come from it. The Army Chief General Ashfaq Kiyani is also among those who believe in democracy hence I do not fear any backlash from the army. For now it is Mr Zardari and his guts alone that may make difference.

Answer/ It is too early to give in to any serious generalizations. It is true that the Al Qaeda mounts such an attack at least once a month. But I do not see the intensity of the attacks witnessed during Musharraf’s times and let us hope that the evil nipped in the bud. Regarding fear yes of course there is fear. Yet you know when a country has witnessed so many attacks already such fears become a matter of routine and a state of indifference rules the streets. That essentially implies that routine life continues unabated until something new happens. And let us hope that nothing of the sort does.

Best regards,

Farrukh Khan Pitafi