Syed Saleem Shahzad: Al-Qaeda seizes on Taliban's problem

Pakistan had to divert troops from the Indian border to the east to take on militants on the other side of the country. Then a plan by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence to spark the Kashmiri separatist movement was hijacked by al-Qaeda. (See Al-Qaeda 'hijack' led to Mumbai attack Asia Times Online, December 2). What resulted was the terror attack on Mumbai last November as a maneuver by al-Qaeda to escalate tension between India and Pakistan to prevent the further relocation of troops. Now, Pakistan is prepared to move more troops to the Afghan border as Washington has agreed to guarantee the de-escalation of Indian troop activities along the Pakistan border. If this happens, the Taliban's cross-border operations will be further curtailed.