Pakistan warns of moving troops away from Afghan border

Yesterday we reported on the plausible theory that the small army that recently attacked selected targets in Mumbai has been part of a calculated ploy with a twofold operational mission: (a) “to provoke a crisis, or even a war, between the India and Pakistan”; and by doing so (b) to divert Pakistan’s attention from its Afghan to its Indian border, thus “relieving pressure on al-Qaeda, Taleban and other militants based there”. It is now being reported that “Pakistan has warned that it will divert troops fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida on its western border with Afghanistan to its eastern frontier with India”. An unnamed Pakistani security official has stated that Pakistan has “made [it] very clear to the Americans and the British that if a situation arises on our eastern borders, our priority would be our eastern border”. [IA]

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