Pakistan Puzzle

By David Ignatius

In Pakistan, the joke goes: "All countries have armies, but here, an army has a country."(The Washington Post)

A War on Pakistan's Schoolgirls

By Yasmeen Hassan

Why Pakistan's tribal areas are seeing a sequel to Afghanistan.(The Washington Post)

President Obama's Policy Options in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)

Hassan Abbas, ISPU Fellow

There is an emerging consensus among foreign policy experts that the growing insurgency and militancy in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) poses the greatest security challenge not only to Pakistan and Afghanistan, but also to the United States. Some scholars even project that a major terrorist act with al-Qaeda footprints in the United States might result in an American strike and ground invasion of this area. President Barack Obama has repeatedly talked about stepping up military action in Afghanistan as a panacea to the expanding crisis in that country and hinted as early as August 2007 that if elected, he would sanction direct military strikes in FATA if there were “actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets” and if Pakistan failed to act. Situation has deteriorated in the region during the last year further complicating Obama’s policy options for stabilizing South Asia. (Read more...)

Pakistan takes over main center of suspect charity

By BABAR DOGAR

LAHORE, Pakistan -- Pakistan formally took control Sunday of the main operational facility of a charity allegedly linked to the Mumbai attacks, underscoring its ongoing effort to ease international pressure over militancy on its soil.(The Washington Post)

2 U.S. Airstrikes Offer a Concrete Sign of Obama's Pakistan Policy

By R. Jeffrey Smith, Candace Rondeaux and Joby Warrick

Two remote U.S. missile strikes that killed at least 20 people at suspected terrorist hideouts in northwestern Pakistan yesterday offered the first tangible sign of President Obama's commitment to sustained military pressure on the terrorist groups there, even though Pakistanis broadly oppose suc...(The Washington Post)

Cabbie's Robbery, Killing Crushes Family and Peers

By Christian Davenport

He didn't like to work nights, not when he could be at home in Fairfax County with his wife and three children. But it was inauguration weekend. Visitors were swarming into Washington. There was money to be made.(The Washington Post)

As Obama Visits State Dept., Clinton Announces 2 Special Envoys

By Karen DeYoung and Glenn Kessler

President Obama traveled to the State Department yesterday afternoon for a visit that was as rich in symbolism as in substance, underscoring his pledge to give top priority to diplomacy as he outlined an activist policy in the Middle East and warned that "difficult days lie ahead" in Afghanistan.(The Washington Post)

In Afghan South, Taliban Fill NATO's Big Gaps

By DEXTER FILKINS
Southern Afghanistan is one of two centers of the Taliban insurgency, which has made a remarkable resurgence since being removed from power in November 2001.(The New York Times)

Pakistan arrests suspected planners of NATO attacks

By Alamgir Bitani

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani security forces arrested seven suspected al Qaeda militants on Wednesday believed to have planned attacks on trucks taking supplies to Western forces in Afghanistan, intelligence officials said.(The Washington Post)

On First Full Day, Obama Will Dive Into Foreign Policy

By Michael D. Shear and Karen DeYoung

President-elect Barack Obama will plunge into foreign policy on his first full day in office tomorrow, finally freed from the constraints of tradition that has forced him and his staff to remain muzzled about world affairs during the 78-day transition.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan: 15 militants, 1 soldier killed

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Security forces killed 15 militants during a raid in a northwest Pakistani tribal region where troops have battled al-Qaida and Taliban insurgents, the military said in a statement Sunday.(The Washington Post)

Afghanistan: We Can Do Better

By Jaap de Hoop Scheffer

We are not where we might have hoped to be by now.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan extends crackdown on Mumbai suspects

By STEPHEN GRAHAM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan insisted it would help India to bring those behind the Mumbai terrorist attacks to justice, saying Thursday it had shut down extremist Web sites and suspected militant training camps, and detained 71 people in a deepening probe.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan reopens NATO supply route

By MATIULLAH ACHAKZAI

CHAMAN, Pakistan -- Pakistan reopened a supply route for NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan on Wednesday after tribesmen ended a three-day blockade.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan state not linked to Mumbai attack: Britain

By Krittivas Mukherjee

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Britain's foreign minister said on Tuesday he believed the Pakistan state did not direct the Mumbai attacks, contradicting accusations from the Indian government that state agencies were involved.(The Washington Post)

Inexplicable Wealth of Afghan Elite Sows Bitterness

By Pamela Constable

KABUL, Jan. 11 -- Across the street from the Evening in Paris wedding hall, a monument to opulence surrounded by neon-lighted fountains and a five-story replica of the Eiffel Tower, is a little colony of tents where 65 families, mostly returnees from Pakistan, huddle against the winter cold and w...(The Washington Post)

U.S.-Funded Intelligence Center Struggles in Khyber Region

By Candace Rondeaux

TORKHAM, Afghanistan -- Located at the foot of a towering mountain range in eastern Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan, the $3 million Khyber Border Coordination Center was billed as a first-of-its-kind experiment in intelligence sharing among Pakistani, Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces...(The Washington Post )

Biden Visits Afghanistan, Meets Karzai, U.S. Officials

By Pamela Constable

KABUL, Jan. 10 -- Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. made a heavily guarded visit to Afghanistan on Saturday, meeting with top Afghan and U.S. military leaders after a quick stop in Pakistan to stress continued U.S. support in the fight against terrorism across South Asia.(The Washington Post)

Series of small bombs strikes eastern Pakistan

By BABAR DOGAR

LAHORE, Pakistan -- Five small bombs exploded outside two theaters in a major eastern Pakistan city late Friday, but there were no casualties, police and other officials said. (The Washington Post)

Promising start by Pakistan, but need more: U.S.

By Krittivas Mukherjee

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Pakistan has made a promising start into the Mumbai attack investigations and on tackling militancy, but still had a long way to go in eliminating the threat, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.(The Washington Post )

Pakistan Rejects Indian Accusations, Plays Down Tension

By Pamela Constable and Candace Rondeaux

KABUL, Jan. 7 -- During a visit to Afghanistan, Pakistan's foreign minister on Wednesday strongly rejected accusations by India that Pakistani government agencies had played a role in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November, insisting that his government wants to "get to the bottom" of the in...(The Washington Post)

Overreach at Bagram

In its last days, the administration is still making counterproductive arguments about detainees.(The Washington Post)

Police: Suicide attack kills 7 in Pakistan

By ISHTIAQ MAHSUD

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan -- A suicide bomber attacked police in northwest Pakistan as they rushed to treat civilians injured by an earlier explosion, killing seven people and wounding at least 25 others, said a police official.(The Washington Post )

Officials: Pakistan arrests senior Taliban figure

By RIAZ KHAN

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Pakistan has arrested a former Taliban spokesman who was released by Afghanistan in 2007 in exchange for a kidnapped Italian journalist, intelligence officials said Saturday _ a high-profile catch at a time when many in the West are concerned tension with India could distract...(The Washington Post)

Pakistan reopens supply route to Afghanistan

By SEBASTIAN ABBOT

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan reopened the main supply route for U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan on Friday after blocking it for three days during an operation against militants blamed for repeated attacks on convoys in the Khyber Pass, an official said.(The Washington Post)

Suspected US missile strike kills 3 in Pakistan

By ISHTIAQ MAHSUD

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan -- A suspected U.S. missile strike by a drone aircraft destroyed a vehicle in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least three foreign militants, said intelligence officials.(The Washington Post )