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U.S. ally Pakistan is the new hope for international Islamist militants who see the nation as the "haven of choice" because of its nuclear capability and the immunity it provides from U.S. attacks, reports the prestigious Courcy Intelligence Service today.

"Pakistan will not be next (to be attacked by the U.S.)," Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the head of the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba told The Friday Times. "Saudi Arabia and then Iran, possibly Syria will come first. Pakistan is a nuclear power, is very close to China and is a nation of jihadis."

Saeed emphasized that Pakistan's conflict with India over Kashmir should be central to the international Islamist agenda.

"We must fight against the evil trio of America, Israel and India," said Saeed. "The need for jihad against India is paramount."

The Courcy Intelligence Service also reports that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is not as firm in opposition to Islamist militancy as some U.S. analysts originally believed.

CIS cites a speech Musharraf gave to the Grand Assembly of the Tribal Jirga in Peshawar last week in which he stressed the need to build up both Pakistan's and the wider Muslim world's military and economic power before "showing eyes to the world" – an Urdu expression indicating hostility.

In the meantime, CIS reports, Indian intelligence sources say up to 4,500 militants are in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir waiting to cross over the Line of Control into the Indian-controlled part of the state once the snows melt.

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