Here's a pretty encouraging sign that the Pakistani government may have the willingness, determination and - presumably - the ability to turn crisis into opportunity and move decisively against the malignant militants in its midst.

"We realised that things have to be done," the Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar told the Times of India, while emphasizing his government's willingness to move ahead in its own anti-terrorist crackdown. He even said something on the need to combat terrorism that would do John Ashcroft proud. "In a time of stress," said Sattar, "legal hassles have to be given the go by."