ISLAMABAD: Official Pakistan has not yet commented on Friday's Malegaon bomb blasts but newspapers questioned India's effectiveness in dealing with communalism and its credentials as a secular nation.

"Communalism continues to pose a challenge to secular India and is causing anxiety among the Muslims particularly in areas seen as communal flashpoints," said the Dawn on Sunday, recalling the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

Note of caution

The newspaper said while the Malegoan bombings "might not provide an apt background" for the meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Havana this week, it was unlikely to cast a shadow over the talks.

But it said the time had come for both leaders to note that "an act of terror in one country strengthens the hands of extremists and fundamentalists in the other."

Peace process

Noting that the peace process between the two countries was already at a halt, the newspaper said "it would be a pity" if such elements were allowed to sabotage the détente.

The Daily Times said as the victims were Muslims, it was possible that Hindu extremist groups were behind the blasts. The newspaper argued that the charged anti-Muslim climate post-Mumbai blasts had set the stage for Malegaon.

The newspaper pointed to economic and social backwardness of the Muslim community in India, but said the Indian media was loathe to admit that the "injustices perpetrated by the Indian state against the Muslims" could have pushed home-grown groups to cause the Mumbai blasts.

`Hindu extremism'

"The rise of Hindu extremism, which has sought primarily to target Muslims, has unleashed a cycle of violence that has only complicated matters. In the larger context of Pakistan-India relations, Hindu extremists have also cast aspersions on the Indianness of Muslims and consider them as Pakistan's Trojan horse," it noted.

It emphasised the need to redress the grievances of Muslims in India, and also for a co-operative security framework "between and among States" in order to prevent terrorism from networking.

Public perception

The Post said while the Mumbai blasts could not be said to have targeted a specific community, there is no doubt that "Friday's blasts were targeted solely against the Muslim community." Speculating that the motivation could be revenge for the Mumbai attacks, it blamed that the cause could lie in the public perception that an Islamist militant group was behind the Mumbai blasts.

Readymade menu

"Any communally inspired element could have taken advantage of this as it was a readymade menu for such elements, such as the Hindu fundamentalist organisations," it said.

Pakistan has made no official comment on the bomb blasts. But Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is reported to have said in response to a question at a press conference on Saturday that Pakistan condemned terrorism and extremism in all forms. He expressed the hope that India would track down those behind the blasts.

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