May 30, 2007:
Indian Maoists have a civil war
on their hands, and in the last week, there have been at least a dozen
casualties from factional fighting. The fighting is partly over the
distribution of money collected via the extortion of local businesses and
workers.
May 29, 2007: Police in Baluchistan
(southwest Pakistan) raided a camp used by tribal separatists, killing four
rebels. The government believes the separatist movement is broken, but there
are still many of the rebels about. To the north, in the Pushtun tribal areas,
a car bomb went off in front of the provincial court building, killing one and
wounding eight. Further to the east, a group of Islamic terrorists
attempted to sneak into Indian Kashmir. At least three were killed by Indian
border guards.
May 28, 2007: Three more bombs went off in Baluchistan
(southwest Pakistan), wounding three people. Tribal separatists took credit. In
central India, Maoist land mines killed nine policemen.
May 27, 2007: While American businesses flock
to Pakistan, the U.S. State Department again warned Americans against visiting
Pakistan, because intel indicated Islamic terrorists were again about to launch
attacks against American targets. As if on cue, two bombs went off in
Baluchistan (southwest Pakistan), one against a police station, and the other
against the state gas company. One died, and the culprits were believed to be
tribal separatists.
May 26, 2007: Some Pakistani groups are willing to
risk civil war, as a way to increase their power. Most political parties have
to figure out who to side with, the current military dictatorship, or some new
coalition. The military and security forces can potentially be split into
factions that are more secular, and those that are into Islamic conservatism.
So far, religion has been more of a curse, than a salvation, for Pakistan.
Corruption is a constant, but religious fanaticism and terrorism has been
getting worse.
May 23, 2007: In Pakistan, pro-Taliban tribesmen
released eight government officials they had kidnapped five days ago. This was
all about the ancient practice (in this part of the world) of taking hostages
to help extort a favor from the government.