Pakistani-Americans worried about increasing suicide attacks back home

Pakistanis living in America are extremely worried about the increasing incidents of suicide attacks and more frequent clashes between militants and the army, the Washington Post reports.

Lahore, July 23 : Pakistanis living in America are extremely worried about the increasing incidents of suicide attacks and more frequent clashes between militants and the army, the Washington Post reports.

"Unless the authorities take on these extremist mullahs now and finish it, there will be no direct foreign investment, no tourism, nothing. In 15 years the country will not be livable," Ray Mahmood was quoted, as saying.

The paper reported that the Washington region is home to thousands of Pakistani immigrants, most of whom came here for economic reasons years ago, and added that almost all are moderate Muslims, who have integrated into American culture.

Tazeen Hashmi, a Baltimore physician, said she just cancelled a sightseeing trip to Pakistan with her daughter, because she was worried that visiting girls not might be attacked for not being veiled.

"The Pakistan I grew up in was moderate. We had military coups and political problems, but we never had suicide bombings...We worry this turmoil could lead to civil war," Hashmi was quoted, as saying.

According to the report, the threat of Islamic militancy in Pakistan has been growing for months, but until now, the violence was largely confined to the lawless tribal areas that border Afghanistan.

President General Pervez Musharraf tried to negotiate a truce with militants, but this initiative has failed, leaving him with the rising challenge of tackling violent Islamists who want to turn Pakistan into a theocracy like Iran or Saudi Arabia, the report said.

Muhammad Afzal, a restaurant owner in Arlington said his relatives in Pakistan were afraid to move out at night.

"Just because these mullahs have a beard, how can they be good Muslims if they kill innocent children and send them to do suicide bombings?" demanded Afzal, who came to the US in 1978.

"I am sure that 75 percent of Pakistanis do not want these mullahs. We need strong leaders. I don't care if they are military or civilian, but please, someone must stop this whole thing."

The paper reported that some Pakistani immigrants believe that a swift return to civilian rule is more urgent than ever, and asserted that only legitimate rule can thwart the fundamentalist tide.

"My nightmare is the spreading of extremism in Pakistan that creates a scenario like Iraq," said Anees Ahsan, a Columbia cardiologist.

"It could threaten the country's very existence, and the government must use both force and wisdom to curb it," she added.

ANI