Markets, Hindu Temples Bombed in Jaipur, India

It could have been worse. Police found and defused an eighth bomb before it went off.

• "Seven bombs kill 60 people in Jaipur"
  Reuters (May 14, 2008)
  "JAIPUR, India (Reuters) - Seven bombs ripped through the crowded streets Jaipur on Tuesday evening, killing around 60 people in markets and outside Hindu temples. ..."
  "Officials said the apparent motive for the bombs was to undermine a peace process between India and Pakistan or foment communal violence in India. ..."
  Reuters says it's the worst bombing India has seen in almost 2 years.
• "Bombs kill 60 and wound 150 in western India"
  The Times Online (UK) (May 13, 2008)
  "A spate of bombings have plagued India since 2005. Last year, two explosions killed 43 people in the southern city of Hyderabad; seven bombings along Mumbai's commuter rail network killed nearly 200 people in 2006, and three New Delhi markets were bombed in 2005, killing 62 people.
  "There have also been a number of smaller explosions, and India has repeatedly blamed the attacks on Islamic militant groups backed by neighbor and rival Pakistan _ accusations Islamabad denies."

I can see India's point. When Hindu temples are bombed, and there's a Muslim country next door, it's easy to put two and two together.

Terrorist Bases in Pakistan Doesn't Necessarily Mean Pakistani Involvement

Although I wouldn't be surprised to learn that whoever put the bombing mission together was based in Pakistan, that doesn't mean that the Pakistani government was involved.

The impression I have is that the current leaders of Pakistan aren't entirely in control of their country. As I mentioned in "Al Qaeda: We Killed Bhutto" (December 28, 2007), the frontier areas of Pakistan are a cultural and economic backwater.

Places like that, where people generally are poor, traditional, and don't seem to approve of what's happened since Alexander the Great passed through their territory, are prime spots for Al Qaeda and like-minded groups to set up bases.

And, provided that the terrorists came to an understanding with the local tribal leaders, it probably wouldn't matter what the government in Islamabad thought about the situation.

That may change, though, if whoever winds up running the official Pakistani government gets organized and secure enough to be able to control the hinterlands.