Mustafa Qadri

Bring peace to the troubled frontier

Grassroots attempts to foster peace in Pakistan provide hope for communities torn apart by war with the Taliban

· Mustafa Qadri

· guardian.co.uk, Saturday 25 July 2009 16.00 BST

There has been much soul-searching in Pakistan of late, and with good reason. Although the Army claims to have largely pushed the Taliban out of the Swat Valley, the most developed part of the country yet infiltrated by the insurgents, the war continues in all of its brutality and uncertainty.

Even in Swat it is unclear whether the Taliban are really vanquished. The government may have told the millions made homeless by this conflict that it is safe to return, but the army’s inability to eliminate key Swat Taliban leaders and the existence of huge pockets of remote mountainous terrain incapable of ever being properly secured make the possibility of a Taliban return a real threat…

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The Pakistan Army intensified its operation Tuesday against militants in the Lower Dir district in the country’s northwest. The operation, which began on Sunday, has already claimed the lives of 50 militants and 13 security forces. In response, the Pakistani Taliban have suspended their talks with the government.

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My latest piece for newmatilda.com is based on a recent visit to parts of the Kohat and Dera Adam Khel tribal areas in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province where the Taliban has a strong presence:

Is Al Qaeda About To Conquer Pakistan?

Counter-insurgency expert David Kilcullen believes that Pakistan could collapse “within months”. But Mustafa Qadri reports that in the tribal areas, it is actually the Taliban, not al Qaeda, that is gaining traction…

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