Friends like these

Pakistan must count itself as very lucky to have a friend like the US. Whatever the provocation, the US seems to find enough rationalisation to stand by it.

Nations which have displeased the US in the past have faced consequences, but not Pakistan. The latest revelation, that an American of Pakistani origin was behind the botched attempt to set off a car bomb in the crowded Times Square area of New York, has forced the US to rap it on the knuckles.

But that’s about it.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton remarked sharply that if any attack on the US had been successful, the consequences for Pakistan would have been “severe”.

However, behind the harsh words there is little more than a mild rebuke. It is clear to the world, and especially here from India, that Pakistan is a hub for terrorists.

The US can make a fine point of the fact that the present Pakistan government is not responsible for the organisations which plan and carry out acts of terrorism, but that is no more than giving its ally a smokescreen to hide behind.

In fact, the attempt to attack New York again is a warning to the US that it tacitly supports Pakistan only at its own peril. The statement by the Russian ambassador to India, Alexander Kadakin, that satellite imagery and intelligence show that there are at least 40 terror camps along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border is significant here.

The world can see that the US is weak when it comes to Pakistan and has started to voice its own fears. As the most important component of the erstwhile Soviet Union, Russia has a stake in the area. The US must sooner rather than later reassess its Pakistan policy.

India has been crying itself hoarse about the use of Pakistani soil to foment terrorism, but has largely been ignored on the pretext of India’s Kashmir policy. It is now clear that the terrorism that emanates from our western neighbour has long surpassed its stake in the so-called Kashmir dream and is now taking on the world.

Pakistan’s defence has been that it too is a victim of terrorism. That may well be true, but there is one crucial difference: the terrorism bedevilling Pakistan is its own creation. The one India faces is inflicted on us from across the border. The US knows the difference, but now needs to act on what it already knows.