Chaos in Pakistan: Tribal Region in Revolt

This matter needs to be given attention by the so-called political leadership in America. The collapse of Pakistan to religious warring factions would be disastrous, a gift to the Taliban and al Qaeda:

In August, militants in Pakistan's wild tribal region on the border with Afghanistan surrounded and captured more than 200 soldiers. Three were subsequently executed and the rest are still being held in a remote hideout in South Waziristan.

This would be a crisis for almost any nation, but in Pakistan, attention is focused on the drama of the political crisis in the pristine capital Islamabad, not the takeover of the rugged hills of Waziristan by religious fanatics.

[...]A full-scale insurrection is taking hold in Waziristan, the most restive part of the tribal region which lies on the border with Afghanistan. It is an uprising not by a few foreign Taliban or al-Qaeda fighters, but the local population.

A full-scale insurrection is taking hold in Waziristan, the most restive part of the tribal region which lies on the border with Afghanistan. It is an uprising not by a few foreign Taliban or al-Qaeda fighters, but the local population.

"Tomorrow they may declare the Islamic emirate of Waziristan," said Talat Masood, a retired general. "This is the greatest challenge since 1971 [when East Pakistan broke away to become Bangladesh]."

[...]Analysts point out that the same Pushtun tribesmen are settled in Karachi, the massive port city in the south of the country. More than three million Pushtuns live there. If they, seeing their kinsmen in Waziristan under attack, were to turn against the state, a Beirut-like situation could follow in Karachi.

General Masood warned: "Pakistan is a very dangerous country. It can explode."