Pakistani military operations in South Waziristan wound down in 2004. Pakistan-U.S. counterterrorism cooperation continues apace. The culpritsreportedly were linked to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group. Kadirgamar also was one of President Kumaratunga's closest allies. Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Pakistani Extremism(26)

		The Al Qaeda-Taliban Nexus

Among the central goals of Operation Enduring Freedom are the destruction of terroristtraining camps and infrastructure within Afghanistan, the capture of Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders,and the cessation of terrorist activities in Afghanistan. (29) Al Qaeda founder Osamabin Laden and his lieutenant, Egyptian Islamic radical leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, are believed bymany to be in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, an area roughly the size of Virginia. (57) Sympathetic ISI officials may even have provided shelter to AlQaeda members in both Pakistan and Kashmir. (77) 

		Indigenous Pakistani Terrorism

Pakistan is known to be a base for numerous indigenous terrorist organizations. (96) Some senior members ofJUI reportedly have been linked to several U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The 9/11 Commission Report recommends U.S. support for better Pakistani education and legislation passed by the 108th Congress( P.L. Senators reportedly have voiced such worries, including concern that elementsof Pakistan's intelligence agencies might be helping members of the Taliban and other Islamicmilitants. Many analysts believesuch development is key to the long-term success of stated U.S. policy in the region. (121) 
After the two December 2003 attempts on President Musharraf's life, the Pakistan militaryincreased its efforts in the FATA. (122) 
Operations in 2004. (138) However, there are indications that underlying tensions remainsignificant and could bring future unrest. (148) 
Since the spring of 2002, U.S. military and law enforcement personnel reportedly have beenengaging in direct, low-profile efforts to assist Pakistani security forces in tracking and apprehendingfugitive Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters on Pakistani territory, especially with signals and otherintelligence. Many also are said to maintain ties with international jihadiorganizations, including Al Qaeda: 
Harakat ul-Mujahideen (an FTO-designate), based in Muzaffarabad (AzadKashmir) and Rawalpindi, is aligned with the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazlur Rehman party (JUI-F),itself a main constituent of the MMA Islamist coalition in Pakistan's NationalAssembly;
Hizbul Mujahideen (on the State Department's list of "other selected terroristorganizations"), believed to have bases in Pakistan, is the militant wing of Pakistan's largest Islamicpolitical party and leading MMA member, the Jamaat-i-Islami;
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) (an FTO-designate), based in both Peshawar andMuzaffarabad, also is aligned with JUI-F; and
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) (an FTO-designate), based in Muzaffarabad and nearLahore, is the armed wing of a Pakistan-based, anti-U.S. Sunni religious organization formed in1989. (167) Even as thenormalization of India-Pakistan relations continues -- and to some extent in reaction to their apparentmarginalization in the face of such developments -- separatist militants continue their attacks on bothcivilians and Indian security forces, and some in India believe that active support for Kashmirimilitants remains Pakistani policy. (168) 

		Indigenous Indian-Designated Terrorist Groups

Northeastern Separatism. Shortly after, while on a visit to New Delhito meet with top Indian leaders, then-U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Armitage told reporters that thenew Indian government appeared to be just as desirous of enhanced U.S.-India relations as theprevious one and that the United States has "absolute confidence that the U.S.-India relationship isgoing to grow in all its aspects." (192) 
Political infighting is debilitating to Bangladesh. Nepal(218)

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)/ United Peoples Front has been identified as anOther Terrorist Group by the U.S. Department of State. Sri Lanka(230)

The United States Department of State continues to designate the Liberation Tigers of TamilEelam (LTTE) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2005.
This report reviews the recent incidence of terrorism in South Asia, concentrating on Pakistan and India, but also including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. The existenceof international terrorist groups and their supporters in South Asia is identified as a threat to bothregional stability and to the attainment of central U.S. policy goals. Al Qaeda forces that fled fromAfghanistan with their Taliban supporters remain active on Pakistani territory, and Al Qaeda isbelieved to have links with indigenous Pakistani terrorist groups that have conducted anti-Westernattacks and that support separatist militancy in Indian Kashmir. Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Ladenand his lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, are widely believed to be in Pakistan. A significant portionof Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun population is reported to sympathize with the Taliban and even AlQaeda. The United States maintains close counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan aimedespecially at bolstering security and stability in neighboring Afghanistan. In the latter half of 2003,the Islamabad government began limited military operations in the traditionally autonomous tribalareas of western Pakistan. Such operations have since intensified in coordination with U.S. andAfghan forces just across the international frontier.
The relationships between international terrorists, indigenous Pakistani extremist groups, andsome elements of Pakistan's political-military structure are complex and murky, but may representa serious threat to the attainment of key U.S. policy goals. There are past indications that elementsof Pakistan's intelligence service and Pakistani Islamist political parties provided assistance toU.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). A pair of December 2003 attempts toassassinate Pakistan's President Musharraf reportedly were linked to Al Qaeda. Lethal, but failedattempts to assassinate other top Pakistani officials in summer 2004 also were linked to AlQaeda-allied groups. Security officers in Pakistan have enjoyed notable successes in breaking upsignificant Al Qaeda and related networks operating in Pakistani cities, although numerous wantedmilitants remain at large.
The 9/11 Commission Report contains recommendations for U.S. policy toward Pakistan,emphasizing the importance of eliminating terrorist sanctuaries in western Pakistan and near theAfghanistan-Pakistan border and calling for provision of long-term and comprehensive support tothe government of President Musharraf so long as that government remains committed to combatingextremism and to a policy of "enlightened moderation." Legislation passed by the 108th Congress( S. 2845 ) seeks to implement this and other Commission recommendations.
The United States remains concerned by the continued "cross-border infiltration" of Islamicmilitants who traverse the Kashmiri Line of Control to engage in terrorist acts in India and IndianKashmir. India also is home to several indigenous separatist and Maoist-oriented terrorist groups. Moreover, it is thought that some Al Qaeda elements fled to Bangladesh. The Liberation Tigers ofTamil Eelam (LTTE) of Sri Lanka have been designated as an FTO under U.S. law, while Harakatul-Jihad-I-Islami/Bangladesh, and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)/United Peoples Front,appear on the State Department's list of "other terrorist groups."