On 26 November, as news channels in Pakistan began to flash breaking news of the attacks in Bombay, Pakistanis were, like Indians, instantly glued to their television sets. They stayed that way for the next three days. Since cable operators were not allowed to show Indian news stations, the main sources of information were private local channels, which relayed footage from India's CNN-IBN, Times Now and others. The view of dead bodies at the Chhatrapati Shivaji (formerly 'Victoria') Terminus and of the siege of the Taj Mahal and Oberoi-Trident hotels inevitably reminded Pakistanis of the September attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.
But the attacks engendered further shock. Bombay is not an alien place for many Pakistanis, after all, as many have travelled countless times through this city while watching Bollywood films. They are familiar with the names of Juhu, Chowpatty and many other places, as with the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and the Taj Hotel. "When my wife and I were watching the news, we were angry with the attackers," said Sajjad Hussain, a resident of Karachi. "My wife hoped that no Indian actors, like Aamir Khan or Shahrukh or Akshay Khanna, were in any of these places."
The second, desperate response of every Pakistani was hope that their country would not be blamed for the incident. At first, many assumed that an Indian group, such as the Indian Mujahideen or Hindu extremists, would end up being found to be behind the attack. "In the beginning, I didn't think they were Pakistanis," said Mahawish Rezzvi, a young TV journalist in Karachi. "I know there are many insurgencies within India, and I thought there was a link with them." This was not a mere knee-jerk reaction, but rather came from an easy familiarity with the tactics behind many recent attacks in Pakistan and elsewhere. "If it were a suicide bomb or any other bomb, then I would have thought about al-Qaeda," Rezzvi continued, "but not this hostage taking."
