ISAS Insights

These are extremely difficult times for Pakistan. It is not only the challenge thrown at the state by the Islamic extremists that has caused so much anxiety inside and outside the country. Many people that have influence in shaping world politics have called this challenge an "existential threat" for Pakistan. Among them is Hillary Clinton, America's Secretary of State, who issued the warning that, unless Islamabad realises the enormity of the threat extremism poses to the very existence of the country, the Pakistani state may simply unravel. There is certainly some exaggeration in this assessment - it was made, most probably, to draw the attention of the policymakers in Islamabad. It seems to have served that purpose. In mid-May 2009, the military was ordered into Swat, a district in the North-West Frontier Province, and it seems to have taken the area back from the extremists. The armed forces have now been told to go after the leadership of the group that goes by the name of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. It is loosely associated with Al-Qaeda, and in Baitullah Mehsud, it has his own charismatic leader.