AS things stand, Pakistan finds itself buffeted by multiple crises. The raging militancy, the constant pressure of the Americans to go for the military option to deal with it and India's machinations trying to unnerve Pakistan, are some of the serious challenges it faces in the security and political spheres. Not a day passes without any of these threatening factors creating more problems for it. On Tuesday morning, a suicide bomber rammed his car into a vehicle carrying security personnel just on the outskirts of NWFP's capital, Peshawar, signalling once again that not even principal towns are immune from the terrorists' designs. Four security men were killed and eight wounded; and the brutal act did not spare the innocent school children, who were passing by at the time, with several of them injured. After the Buner operation that has taken a heavy toll of life, the Swat peace deal seems to be all but dead, with clashes between the security forces and the militants already taking place in some parts of the valley. Following President Barack Obama's scathing criticism of Pakistan's civilian government, there has been a stream of statements and analyses throwing up hosts of scenarios, some as scary as foreboding its disintegration. On a daily basis, the vicious circle of pressure goes on, as Admiral Mullen is again in the news expressing the US wish for a military operation on the fast track. While President Obama counsels us not to regard India "as a mortal threat" and shift our focus to the challenge of militancy on the western borders with a single-minded devotion, New Delhi, ever scheming to fish in troubled waters, starts holding military exercises on our borders. No strategist worth its salt would forget the lifelong hostility between the two countries on the basis of baseless assumptions. The facts on the ground speak louder and clearer. It is a pity that the leader of the superpower cedes to the Indian pressure and modifies his stance on the centrality of Kashmir in forging peace between the two countries, but there is little justification for Pakistan to overlook how the Indians conduct themselves. India and Pakistan have fought wars and continue to have serious disputes. Not only that. New Delhi creates new realities meant to make matters worse for Islamabad. The diversion of water by constructing dams in the upper reaches against the explicit provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty is extremely worrisome to Pakistan and serves as a constant reminder of India's hostility. It has been termed as a more serious threat than the Taliban. Should not Washington be reviewing its strategy towards the Subcontinent in recognition of these threats to Pakistan and spare some effort to persuade India to shed its intransigence and sort out the contentious issues? That would constitute quite a setback to militancy.