India-Pakistan: January 2, 2005

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Pakistan's uneasy southwest (Baluchistan) suffered 650 rocket attacks in 2004. The small 107mm and 122mm rockets are not very accurate, and killed a dozen people and wounded about 40. In 2003, there were only 121 such attacks. There was plenty of murder in the province during 2004, about 1,100. The police really only control the towns. Out in the countryside, tribal justice prevails. A growing drug trade in Afghanistan, and increased pressure to find al Qaeda leaders, has resulted in more rocket attacks. The rockets are more of a protest than a weapon. The Baluchi tribes have been unruly for thousands of years. Pakistan rules Baluchistan according to the map, but not according to what's happening on the ground.

 

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