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The attack on the Pakistan Army GHQ in Rawalpindi by terrorists and subsequent attacks in other cities have generated a lot of nervousness here and abroad. The attack also helped strengthen a consensus in the government, especially between the military and civilians, reflected in the decision to launch an offensive in Waziristan. The military is keen to root out unfriendly elements such as Hakimullah Mehsud's gang, the Tehrik-i-Taliban, who are not only operating in the Tribal Areas but also seen as the force behind the recent attacks. These are the unfriendly Taliban, who, the military believes, are working in collusion with Indian intelligence agencies or other unfriendly elements.

The army is convinced that external forces are motivating members of the various militant groups based in Punjab. A variation on that opinion is that the recent attacks are part of a series to avenge the American onslaught in Afghanistan and Pakistan's Tribal Areas, especially the drone attacks. Since some of the Waziristan-based Taliban are unhappy with Pakistan's involvement in those, they try to punish the military or the law enforcement agencies by launching suicide attacks.

Fingers are pointed at breakaway South Punjab-based factions of Jaish-e-Mohammad, especially the Amjad Farooqi group, also involved in the first assassination attempt on Pervez Musharraf, in 2003. It is believed that this group is also connected with the Ilyas Kashmiri group that had broken away from Lashkar-e-Jhangavi a few years ago. Ilyas Kashmiri, who was once honoured and rewarded by Pervez Musharraf for killing an Indian army officer, parted ways with the government in 2004 over some ideological disagreement. Sources claim that he was unhappy with the treatment meted out to his family and joined ranks with the Taliban groups which found fault with the Pakistan army's decision to support the American war on terror.

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