Pakistan in the spotlight after failed Times Square bombing

Faisal Shahzad has apparently confessed to planting the bomb in Times Square, but in his home country, Pakistan, the reactions vary: some are skeptical and some are in denial.

One accountant from Karachi is in disbelief: "what evidence do the Americans have? They could claim anything to blame us Pakistanis for acts of terror." A business man is of the opinion: "As long as the USA keeps getting involved in our affairs, the Taliban will stay involved in theirs."

Among the Pakistani people there is a sense of deep animosity towards America and a feeling of being victimized. Nonetheless the Pakistani police has arrested numerous people in connection with the attempted attack in New York. Now authorities are working on finding out if Faisal Shahzad was acting alone or if he was working for a Pakistani terrorist organization.

Bomb making classes in Pakistan

Shahzad has reportedly stated he was trained in bomb-making in his home country. According to statements made by his mother, last year he spent time in northwest Pakistan, a stronghold of Islamist insurgents.

The group that confessed to the attack is known as the "Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan", but it is still not clear whether or not they are really responsible. Until now they have mainly carried out attacks in Pakistan.

But in another video, the leader of the terrorist group, Hakimullah Mehsud, recently threatened to carry out attacks in American cities. Mehsud was also filmed with a Jordanian al Qaeda terrorist who was responsible for the deaths of seven CIA agents last year in Khost, Afghanistan.

Terrorism beyond the borders

So it would seem that Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan is looking to expand terrorist activities beyond Pakistani borders. The prohibited group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT for short) is another terrorist group that went beyond the borders. Now it is said they are operating through dummy organizations. In 2008 they organized the terror attacks in Mumbai, in which 175 people were killed. However, a speaker of the group denies any involvement, stating: neither Lashkar-e-Taiba nor its founder, Hafiz Saeed, have anything to do with the Mumbai attacks

But evidence from the trial of the only surviving attacker, Ajmal Kasab, has proven otherwise. Kasab described in great detail how Lashkar-e-Taiba recruited and trained him and then sent him to Mumbai.

Before that, the group had carried out other attacks in India, among them on the Indian parliament in Delhi. Experts also believe that LeT was planning to carry out an attack on the American embassy in Bangladesh in November. Furthermore, David Headley, who is currently imprisoned in the United States and, like Shahzad, is of Pakistani descent, had also been planning attacks on offices and employees of the Danish newspaper "Jyllands Posten" for the LeT. The newspaper had become controversial for the printing of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad.

Ajmal Kasab, the Mumbai terrorist, was found guilty of all 86 charges in a court in Mumbai on Monday. The sentence is due on Thursday; prosecution has called for capital punishment of the 22 -year-old.

Author: Sabina Matthay / sb
Editor: Thomas Baerthlein