Before concluding who was behind the daring and well conducted attack on PNS Mehran base by well trained terrorists, with sophisticated communication equipment, night vision devices; state-of-the-art weaponry, we need to asses who gained the maximum from this assault. The loss of two P-3C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft, which were India-specific, and is capable of primarily conducting maritime patrol, reconnaissance, anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare, benefits the adversary. In one stroke, 75% of Pakistans P-3C fleet has been decimated. The armed forces of Pakistan, who were humiliated as a result of Operation Geronimo on May 2, have been further besmirched as a result of the breach of security at PNS Mehran and the 7 hours required to break the siege by only four (+2) terrorists. This act speaks volumes for whodunit. According to an international news agency, the Tehrik-e-Taliban (Pakistan) claimed responsibility, but this appears to be a red herring. This was no ragtag militia descended from the tribal region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The targeted P-3C Orions were not being used in the war against terror, so were of no threat to the Taliban or Al-Qaeda. Pakistan Navy has not been an active participant in the war on terror apart from its contribution to the anti-piracy efforts or the Maritime Task Force in the Indian Ocean. This lends credence to the earlier media reports of the Indian spy agency RAW, infiltrating the Taliban and Al-Qaeda with some other foreign intelligence agencies to destabilise Pakistan. Resulting from the attack, a number of advantages can be accrued to the enemies of Pakistan. Besides the trauma and shock, the loss of high value military hardware and the loss of 10 lives and injuries to 15 armed forces personnel, a clear message has been sent to Pakistan. The detractors of Pakistans nuclear weapons programme are bent upon proving that there are breaches in the security system, which can lead to the nuclear weapons landing in the hands of terrorists, thus endangering the world. No amount of reasoning, rationalisation and explanation that sophisticated nuclear weapons are not hand grenades, which can be transported and hurled at targets with impunity has worked, since the detractors are bent upon Pakistan abandoning its nuclear weapons, they will stop at nothing short of actually defanging us. The detractors, through intelligence and war games with varied scenarios, have explored the possibilities of taking control of Pakistans nuclear weapons but have reached virtual dead ends. The other aspect is vindictiveness for the Mumbai attacks. India has been itching for levelling the score, since it has been alleging that Pakistan was behind the Mumbai attacks. It tried launching surgical strikes but lost its nerve, when its initial probe missions got intercepted. Ever since, India has been pressurising Pakistan for action against the alleged perpetrators of the Mumbai attack but has ended up with egg on its face when two of the persons in the so-called list are found to be in India. India has been targeting PNs maritime patrol aircraft since the 1990s. IAF targeted and shot down PNs Atlantique reconnaissance aircraft over Sir Creek area on August 11, 1999 when the unarmed aircraft was flying close to the Indian border. It is another story that nature avenged the death of the 16 innocent PN personnel, who perished with the Atlantique, when Squadron Leader Bundela, the pilot of the MiG-21, who shot down the Atlantique, himself crashed and was paralyzed from the neck down and struggled as a near vegetable for four months before succumbing to his injuries. It is now abundantly clear who is targeting Pakistan. The fact that four+two terrorists managed to infiltrate PNS Mehran with impunity, and two of them make good their escape despite the security dragnet, there is dire need for the government to revisit its security and anti-terrorist policy, evolve a clear cut strategy to combat the scourge of terrorism and take the people of Pakistan into confidence to garner their support. n The writer is a political and defence analyst.