It flew over your head.. way over it..
Shaun's whole article is full of BS except where he states the gravity of the extremist threat.
Yet..even when engaged in bloody conflict.. during 2008 the elements of the then TTP which were still in contact with the Afghan Taliban.. gave support.
Its an internal conflict in which the Indian hawks would sell their mothers to get involved and flame up.. yet..saner heads prevail.
The threat to Pakistan is multi-axial.. not just India.
The Indian threat on a border is dangerous.. but not so much as an Indian threat from Afghanistan.. from within Balochistan.
The Indian threat is not overt as much as it is covert..
For all its hype the ISI has commited multiple failures in protecting the state..and projecting our interests across the border.
Not their fault really...since they were dragged into internal politics rather then focusing on their primary task..
yet..
the ISI failed to see the Indian threat on sowing secretarian seeds of violence..
It failed to check the influence of RAW on the baloch insurgency..
The TTP are funded elsewhere....
The Indian threat is from those hawks that prefer a "final solution".. yet feed their public crap about being innocent all the time.
Pakistan see's the Indian as a threat since it never took the time to understand the potential of using India's elephant to pull its own cart along..
Pakistani's will continue to see the Indian's as a threat because they have been fed lies about how the Indians attacked them.. while only a few will realize that one Khan nearly destroyed Pakistan in 65..
and a false messiah is responsible for the death and destruction that surrounds us.
Indians will continue to feel disdain and contempt for Pakistan without realizing that most if not all military expenditure of their nation is Pakistan centric...all their logistical setup is Pakistan centric...all their training is Pakistan centric.
If peace was EVER on the cards.. these gestures do little to win over a population...on either sides.
If not for India.. Pakistan would have very little need for such a large military..the public would never support it. It is because the majority of the public supports it.. that it is there.
What do Indian's think.. that if tomorrow they withdrew their forces from the west.. and showed no signs of any aggression...in this media age...and then if a Pakistani general took over and allotted money to the forces under the guide of "saving Pakistan" from India.. would the population stand still?
Most likely it would lead to a civil war...he would be beaten with his own belt in the streets.
His troops would see the truth as well.
But the mistrust between the nations is now deeper than the oceans..
If Mr Manmohan truly wanted a prosperous and stable Pakistan.. he would find out what the Pakistani people are..which he probably knows..
He would then show India who these people are..not unlike them in their daily troubles..and nowhere any less resourceful.
He would treat Pakistan as more of a neighbor..than a tenant.
The same should be said of Pakistani leaders(if there was anything like that ever after Jinnah and Bhutto). They need to engage their military establishment more.. yet not cow down to its every whim.
They need to say "be wary..but be quiet".
The Indian leader has to come out..and tell its population..
The ISI is not in your closet..
its not in your cupboard...
and not drag it into everything.. even lost pigeons from bird farms.
This great change in threat perception cannot.. ever...come from leadership..
It has to come from the people..
And in all of my interactions.. with Indian expats..tourists..and military men..and my own people..
Pakistani's....person for person.. are more keen on peace with India...and being neighbors..
Blame our leadership for the impression.. we should be ranked #1 on the worst populous list in terms of leadership selection and support.
But if the brits and the french can eventually get along and just live.
There has to be a supernatural phenomenon making sure we hate each others mutual guts for eternity.
Not even a superhuman reincarnation of Indra Gandhi can prevent another 26/11 coming from a Pakistani establishment...whatever military might may come..
And no "decade of development" by another dictator can save Pakistan from the undeniable truth..that it needs to clean house from these mullah's..and focus on its development.. while maintaining a deterrent with its neighbors..yet with hands extended.
And no secular pacifist.. can ever achieve everlasting peace..between us.
It has to come from the population..a burning desire to end this 67yr old BS.. forget the starter..the middle..the end...the cause,the guilty...this will have to overcome years of hatred,bias,perception..inculcated by education,the media,family..everything....even religion itself..
I dont see that happening...
So.. to me..
The TTP are a threat.. that with proper focus can be removed within 5 years..
We will have to deal with the Americans...the Afghans.. ..and we will.. somewhat successfully.
But India, with its hawkish military an leaders.. will forever be the one thing we have to watch out for..
I see it sparing no opportunity to collaborate with all those who hold Pakistan as their enemy....and its public..via the controlled media will be coaxed to see their glorious "mata" victorious against some bearded, think arabic accented.. Mullah's.