By Michael Georgy
ISLAMABAD, Oct 4 (Reuters) - The possibility that militants in northwest Pakistan had been plotting coordinated attacks on European cities has again put the spotlight on the U.S. ally's struggle against some of the world's most dangerous groups.
Here are some questions and answers on why Islamic militant groups seem to thrive in Pakistan, a south Asian country Washington says is indispensable in its war on militancy.
WHERE DO THEY OPERATE?
Pakistan's forbidding northwestern tribal lands near the Afghan border are ideal sanctuaries for militants bent on imposing Islamic rule in Pakistan, defeating Western troops in Afghanistan and launching attacks in Western countries.
President Barack Obama has described Pakistan's border region as "the most dangerous place in the world".
Few of Pakistan's federal laws apply and outside interference is resented so militants can operate relatively freely.
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WHY ARE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES INTERESTED IN NORTH WAZIRISTAN?
It's home to the most hard core and effective militant groups. Last week, a Pakistani security official said there are "terrorists" from all nationalities in North Waziristan, from Arabs to Americans.
Getting specifics and rooting them out is extremely tough.
Intelligence is hard to come by. Militant groups are deeply entrenched and have established elaborate, murky networks. Cooperating with Western intelligence agencies would mean certain death for Pakistanis who are caught. It's just too risky.
Barring the presence of al Qaeda leaders like Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri -- long believed to be hiding in Pakistan's northwest -- the biggest prize for the United States in North Waziristan is the Haqqanis.
The network, named after veteran mujahideen leader Jalaluddin Haqqani is one of the most dangerous Afghan Taliban factions fighting U.S.-led NATO troops in Afghanistan. But the network is seen as untouchables because it is Pakistan's most strategic asset in Afghanistan.
If Pakistan gives in to U.S. pressure to launch a full-fledged assault in North Waziristan and eliminate Haqqani, that could backfire, creating a new, ruthless enemy, the last thing the army needs as it struggles against homegrown Taliban insurgents.
So-called self-radicalised militants with no previous record of extremism are potentially a bigger threat to the security of the West because they have Western passports and can travel more easily to places like North Waziristan for training from seasoned anti-Western warriors.
HOW DID THE PAKISTAN MILITANT THREAT EVOLVE?
Critics say Pakistan's history of tacit support for militants, starting from the fight against Soviet occupation in Afghanistan, has created a hydra-headed, increasingly ambitious monster.
Take the Pakistani militants most closely associated with al Qaeda, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It has evolved from a group focused only on destabilising the Pakistani government through suicide bombings to one whose leader was charged for his role in the second deadliest attack in the CIA's history.
A few weeks ago, one of the group's leaders said it would carry out attacks in the United States and Europe "soon".
Pakistan is under constant U.S. pressure to crack down on Pakistani and Afghan militants. It has proven capable of doing so -- even netting some of al Qaeda's most notorious heavyweights.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, was arrested in Pakistan in 2003. But cooperation from Pakistan can be hard to come by as the Haqqani network's status in North Waziristan suggests.
(Editing by Sugita Katyal)
(For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: http://www.reuters.com/places/pakistan.
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