Mumbai, Kashmir and the Pakistan connection
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Pakistan's government has fiercely denied any role in the terrorist attacks on Mumbai that killed more than 160 people. We hope that is true. But there are strong signs that the terrorists were members of the Pakistani-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba, a former proxy of Islamabad's powerful intelligence service that - despite being officially banned - continues to operate in plain sight in Pakistan.
Any act of terrorism is horrifying, but the potential aftermath of this one is even more so.
India and Pakistan have already fought three wars. Both have nuclear weapons. It is not hard to imagine that the attackers' real goal was to disrupt recent efforts to improve relations - and provoke an even greater cataclysm. Everything must be done to avoid that.
India has so far shown extraordinary restraint. It will have to continue to do so as the investigation moves forward. Pakistan, which has bounced between sympathy and bluster, must provide full cooperation - no matter where the investigation leads.
Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, must face up to his country's involvement - whether official or nearly so. We know his new civilian government is weak, and he may not be able to accede to New Delhi's demands that all suspects be turned over to India for prosecution.
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At a minimum, his government must be ready to arrest and try anyone involved in the attacks, and mete out long jail terms if they are convicted. Islamabad must finally shut down all the Lashkar training camps and recruitment.
We also are waiting for a forceful public repudiation of the militant groups from the army chief of staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and his personal pledge that all ties between Pakistan's military and the extremists will be severed. His silence is deafening.
India must share intelligence with Pakistan on the attack. Instead of boxing Zardari in, it should ask his government to arrest only people who are directly linked to the Mumbai attacks, not other incidents.
For any lasting peace, India and Pakistan must settle their dispute over Kashmir, the biggest flashpoint. India's growing investment and intelligence network in Afghanistan also is feeding Islamabad's insecurity and sense of encirclement. India must be transparent about its involvement in Afghanistan.
If the two countries are going to inch back from the brink, they will need strong support from the United States, China and others powers. These countries also must develop a strategy to strengthen Pakistan's fragile civilian government and stop the country from becoming even more ungovernable.
That does not mean impunity for anyone involved in the Mumbai attacks. It means that the leaders of Pakistan's military and intelligence services must finally realize that the extremists pose a clear and present threat to their own country's survival.
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