Pakistan fails to curb attacks

Catch up with what's in the French papers with James Creedon every weekday morning at 7.10am.

In the aftermath of militant attacks in Pakistan, the Times of India is shining the spotlight on the growing number of Pakistani military personnel who are turning rogue. This is mostly in the Punjab province, the paper notes.

One militant they specifically name is Ilyas Kashmiri, a former Pakistani special services commando thought to have been killed by a US strike. He survived and has promised retribution. He is just one of several jihad masterminds who were formerly members of Pakistan’s armed forces.

The Pakistani English-language paper The Nation is speculating on how militants are getting their hands on weapons. “If the Swat Valley is more or less secure and South Waziristan is virtually cordoned off on three sides, the only source of help to the militants… is the well over 100,000 US and NATO troops.”

The paper wonders if coalition forces in Afghanistan are not sabotaging Pakistan’s efforts to contain militants in order to pave the way for launching drone attacks in the Quetta region.

Other stories covered in today’s papers:

The International Herald Tribune
“Fearing retribution, journalists free Iran”

The Independent
“The good, the bad and the naked of London’s plinth”

I