Can Pakistan Be Secular?

To anyone who knew him in this country, Faisal Shahzad seemed like a likeable but unremarkable young man, a naturalised American citizen, living a middle class life in Connecticut with his wife and two children. Then came Saturday, May 1, 2010, when he allegedly tried to blow up a van loaded with explosives in New York's crowded Times Square. He failed and was later arrested. His story has set off a flurry of questions here: Why did he do it? What are the links between Islam and jihad? And, why does Pakistan figure so ominously in a majority of terror-related incidents around the world?

The British authorities said sometime ago that 70 per cent of terror-related events in their country had a link with Pakistan. Indians can shake their heads in empathy; so can the Americans after a series of attempted cases of terrorism involving US citizens becoming radicalised after hooking up with jihadi outfits in Pakistan. What i