Do you feel Pakistan has been playing a far more sinister role in fostering terrorism in the North West Frontier region than the West realises? Do you think the relationship with the US will change now, or will America continue to treat Pakistan as an ally? 

Pakistan has used terrorism as a state policy for its "strategic depth" in Afghanistan and Kashmir over the past three decades.

Pakistan was the chief supporter of the Taliban in the 1990s, has refused to cut ties with the terrorist group since the Taliban's fall in late 2001, and has continued to actively fund, train and protect terrorist groups in its territory.

There has been a growing understanding in the US government in recent years about Pakistan's destabilising role in Afghanistan and its support for terrorist groups, but Washington has failed to force Pakistan to change its policy.

The relationship between Washington and Islamabad is at its lowest point. The arrest of CIA contractor Raymond Davis and the Pakistani leaders' condemnation of US drone attacks in the tribal areas have seriously undermined ties between the two countries.

The bin Laden episode will further strain relations between them. It is time for Washington to cut aid to Pakistan if it fails to act on terrorist groups on its soil.

How do you see this affecting the India-Pakistan relationship, especially with the US being an interested party in 26/11? Do you think it will be accepted that Pakistan is sheltering terrorists? 

Until Pakistan rethinks its policy on terrorism, diplomatic efforts between Islamabad and New Delhi will not progress. All diplomatic engagement will fall apart should there be another terrorist attack in India originating from Pakistan.

Instead of focusing on fighting terrorism, the Pakistani government is trying to double its nuclear arsenal which indicates the Pakistani military establishment has no intention of settling decades of hostility towards India.

In his testimony, Pakistani American terrorist David Headley told the FBI that the ISI's involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attack went as far as "choosing the weapons to be used in the attack." Moreover, the Pakistani government continues to support anti-India terrorist groups, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Do you believe there are elements in Pakistan's government which are trusted allies of the Al Qaeda and Taliban? Or is that improbable? Would you say that there is only popular support among certain sections of the public? 

Supporting the Afghan Taliban is the official policy of Pakistan's army and intelligence service.

While the Army has taken action against the Pakistani Taliban that fight the Pakistani government, it has given a free rein to the Afghan Taliban and terrorist groups in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas that are fighting against the Afghan and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani Army treats the Haqqani Network, for example, as a "strategic asset." There has been no Pakistani operations against Mullah Omar's shura based in the city of Quetta.

There are trusted allies of the al Qaeda and Taliban within the Pakistani government. Many former military generals and ex-ISI officials publicly defend the Taliban and despise the United States. Former ISI chief Gen. Hamid Gul, for example, freely and publicly campaigns for the cause of terrorists against the United States.

How do you think this will affect Barack Obama's popularity, ahead of the elections next year? Even before he announced his candidature, as a Senator, he had spoken of how America should not be fighting in Iraq, and should be focusing on Pakistan instead. 

The killing of bin Laden will definitely help Obama in the upcoming elections. But Obama's overall strategy vis-a-vis Pakistan has not been a successful one.

Despite his pre-election rhetoric, Obama failed to pressure Pakistan to change its policy. The killing of bin Laden was carried out by US special operations forces without the knowledge of the Pakistani government.

It did not hapen as a result of years of diplomacy and financial assistance to Islamabad and Rawalpindi. 

(In Image) Fury: A woman celebrates the death of Osama Bin Laden, by stomping on newspaper showing his face, across the street from the World Trade Centre on May 2011 in New York.  

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