In the end it took about 18 hours. That is how long a small group of militants were able to hold the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi hostage before they were killed (and in one case captured). Needless to say, it has still not been adequately explained how the heavily fortified GHQ was infiltrated and then occupied by these militants for nearly an entire day.

The attack was similar to the one on the police training school at Manawan except it lasted about 12 hours longer. And it came the same week as devastating attacks in Peshawar and at a UN office.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik has been wrong in every statement he made since the crisis started, none more so than his proclamation that the attack didn’t represent a failure of the security forces. Malik seemed to believe that killing four of the militants before they could enter GHQ was quite the achievement. That they let another four in and couldn’t apprehend them for an entire day and night is not a sign of counter-insurgency prowess.

And Malik’s advice to prevent future attacks is even more baffling:

Rehman Malik advised landholders not to rent out their property on temporary basis to any foreigner or local person.

Once again, the government seemed more interesting in fighting a PR battle than a military one. Mid-afternoon rumours began to circulate that PEMRA had forced cable operators to take Geo off the air. This turned out not to be true, it had merely asked them to change the station number. So, a cat-and-mouse game was being played with the terrorists and Geo’s viewers.

There are other questions that need to be answered. Where did the militants get the army fatigues they wore to attack the building? Even scarier, how were the militants able to get access to a van with military license plates?

At least one positive move has been made in the training of Pakistan’s police and military in counter-terrorism. There are reports that they will receive guidance from the British to help deal with terrorism. The British security services, because of their experience in dealing with the Northern Ireland issue, are widely recognised as the experts (along with Israel) on counter-terrorism.

It may be chance that one of the deadliest weeks in Pakistan’s recent history took place when the country, including the army, was busy denouncing the Kerry-Lugar bill. If the GHQ attack teaches the army one lesson, it is that they should busy themselves fighting terrorists, not US senators.