Reports that al-Qaeda (Group Profile) is using local Pakistani militant groups to conduct sectarian attacks as a means of destabilizing the government of Pakistan?s President Musharraf?a critical US ally in the Global War on Terrorism (GWoT)?is not surprising given the ongoing metastasizing evolution of the global al-Qaeda network and Pakistan?s role as a frontline battlefield in the GWoT and as a primary theater of operations for al-Qaeda.

Reports indicate that al-Qaeda may be using local Pakistani militant groups and operatives–some splintered from Kashmiri separatist groups–to conduct a recent rash of sectarian terrorist attacks against both Shia and Sunni religious gatherings that experts believe is aimed at destabilizing the security environment in Pakistan, and, in turn, degrading Musharraf?s control in Pakistan and his ability to fully prosecute counter-terrorism operations against Islamic extremist terrorist and militant elements.