After 9/11, Pakistan denounced the actions of Islamic militants and claimed to be in the process of severing all ties with these militants and training camps that dotted its countryside. Those claims have always been viewed with skepticism at best, especially in the West, however, there are renewed worries that militant activity is not only known but is potentially being encouraged in this vehemently anti-American country.

It has been less than a month since an American-centric force found and killed Osama Bin Laden, discovered less than a few miles away from a military training academy in Pakistan. The official government statement was that there was no knowledge that the extremist leader was hiding there, but there are serious doubts about how true that might be. Members of the Taliban and other militant groups had vowed to avenge the death and apparently have started taking steps to do so.

A naval base in Karachi was attacked by a group of Islamist militants who attacked several targets, including a surveillance aircraft which had been supplied by the US. The ten to fifteen attackers came as a group to the Nehran Naval Station and then immediately split into smaller groups. There was several explosions and rockets were fired during the siege which lasted several hours. One Pakistani Naval officer and one firefighter were killed in that attack.

Attacks like these have highlighted the weaknesses to the Pakistani military, but are not the only things to call the training and dedication into question. Outsiders are concerned that there might have been inside information supplied to those militants. The attack on this naval base also reinforces the belief that Pakistan at least knew the location of Bin Laden.

The United States has been demanding that Pakistan take action against the militants that concentrate along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border for at least three years, with only a few actions taken in response. The extremists typically strike against police or army targets but are not above killing civilians and government officials to get a point across.

This latest attack has been the most serious against the Pakistani military since 2009 when an army headquarter was attacked with dozens held captive for nearly a day. That stand off left 23 people dead.

Three militants spoke to AP reporters with some restrictions, of course, about the number of Islamic militant training facilities are in place in Pakistan and some of their goals for the future. Just 35 miles from the compound where US Navy Seals killed Bin Laden, there is one of these secret training camps. Allegedly, hundreds of recruits are located in these camps with the mission to eventually get to Kashmir to fight India.

The militants also revealed to the AP reporters that the Pakistani military is well aware of these training camps but looks the other way. If that proves to be true, that would mean Pakistan is accepting military and financial aid from the United States but still not only allowing the militants but encouraging it as well.