The President of Pakistan has warned that a "cancer" is eating away at his country, one which requires radical surgery. In fact, the patient needs three separate operations, each as risky as the next. The Islamist political parties, which have hardly ever been strong at the ballot box, sense victory through street-power and guns. The Pakistani Taliban and its Afghan and al‑Qaeda allies wish to destroy the state as part of their war against the infidel West. And the so-called Kashmir liberation groups are slowly widening their field of operations, as shown by recent attacks in Mumbai and on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore.
Those of us who thought that it was possible to have a Pakistani national identity without ideological extremism have been disappointed again and again. It seems, in retrospect, that there was an inherent instability in pulling together the outer and more ungovernable regions of British India simply on the basis of religion. Throughout its history, Pakistan has been vulnerable to religious extremism. Unless co‑ordinated international action is taken as a matter of urgency, Pakistan may not survive.
So what needs to be done? First, it is absolutely vital that the international community assists in the rebuilding of confidence between India and Pakistan. This must include a guarantee from both sides, but particularly Pakistan, that all cross-border terrorism will cease and those planning it will be neutralised.
It is said that the previous President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, was close to a deal with the Indians on Kashmir, but could not sell it to the army. The files must be dusted off – in fact, it must be part of any agreement on military and economic aid that the army co-operates with its political masters in bringing peace and stability to Pakistan.
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