Ali Sethi writes in the NYTimes that the verdict is out as to perpetrators of the Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team.
He describes the conversations average Pakistanis have with one another. Did Pakistani authorities plan the attack to prove that Pakistan, too, suffers from terror attacks? Was it Islamists?
This reminds me of living in Beirut during the string of assassinations in 2005. Who assassinated former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri? Syria? Israel? Islamists? The Russian mob?
Why were all of the people assassinated or targeted for assassination in 2005 after Hariri's assassination Greek Orthodox Christian: Samir Kassir, George Hawi, Elias el-Murr, May Chidiac (through marriage), and Gebran Tueni?
In Lebanon, the perpetrators often choose not to explain. The message might be meant for a major political actor, and that person might receive the message, but we, the people, who must live amidst the chaos try to make sense of the violence, even when few clues are available. This leads to conspiracy theories, strange behaviors, and long-term psychological problems.
The Long War Journal has an update on the Pakistani investigation into the identities and affiliations of the Lahore attackers.
Pakistan denies India behind Lahore attack
It walks like al Qaeda/Pakistani Taliban and quacks like al Qaeda/Pakistani Taliban.
As with the Mumbai attack, whether Pakistanis and their government are willing to accept Occam's Razor is a separate question.
Terrorism, as a way of manipulating public opinion, is usually shrouded in deception. In the cases such as Pakistan, or now India (or Lebanon, or Spain, or Italy...) that suffer continous attacks, the involvement of government structures is far more than probable. Therefore, the application of Occam's Razor in such cases would point to the government itself.
Indiscriminate terror attacks usually want simply that, terror, or propaganda. However, when the attack is meticulously planned against a VIP, things are not so easy. We Europeans still don't know why Alfred Herrhausen was killed in 1989...
but we can figure it out.