Pakistani Offensive Puts Truce on Shakier Ground

By CARLOTTA GALL and ISMAIL KHAN
A negotiator for the Taliban broke off talks to protest a government offensive in the Swat Valley. (The New York Times)

Talks With Taliban in Pakistan on Hold After Military Offensive

By Nahal Toosi

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, April 27 -- A Pakistani military offensive against insurgent hideouts prompted suspension of controversial peace talks with the Taliban on Monday, and the country's president sought additional foreign aid to ensure that its nuclear arms remain in "safe hands." (The Washington Post)

In Pakistan, Guile Helps Taliban Gain

By JANE PERLEZ and PIR ZUBAIR SHAH
The fall of Buner, a strategic district in Pakistan, involved tactics that could be replicated elsewhere. (The New York Times)

Sound the Alarm

THE TALIBAN raised fears in Pakistan last week by briefly seizing new territories near the capital, Islamabad. But in its own way, the Obama administration offered as much reason for panic about the deteriorating situation in that nuclear-armed Muslim country. In the course of just three days, the... (The Washington Post)

Alarm Grows Over Pakistan's Failure to Halt Militant Gains

By CARLOTTA GALL and ERIC SCHMITT
The fall of a district near Pakistan's capital to Taliban fighters has raised alarm about the ability of the government to fend off the militants' advance. (The New York Times)

Taliban Advance, Pakistan's Wavering Worry Obama Team

By Karen DeYoung

The Obama administration reacted with increasing alarm yesterday to ongoing Taliban advances in Pakistan, warning the Pakistani government that failure to take action against the extremists could endanger its partnership with the United States as well as U.S. strategy in neighboring Afghanistan. (The Washington Post)

U.S. May Fill Afghan Civilian Posts With Military Personnel

By THOM SHANKER
Military personnel will fill hundreds of posts in Afghanistan that had been intended for civilian experts, senior officials said. (The New York Times)

Clinton: Pakistani Government 'Abdicating' to Extremist Forces

By Glenn Kessler

The Pakistani government "is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Congress yesterday in an unusually blunt statement that reflects the unease within the Obama administration about an agreement authorized by President Asif Ali... (The Washington Post)

U.S. wants broader Pakistan military ties: official

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration wants to pursue broader military ties with Pakistan to help Islamabad combat a growing threat from militant groups including the Taliban, a Pentagon official said Tuesday. (The Washington Post)

Bomber Hits Checkpoint in Pakistan, Killing 20

By ISMAIL KHAN
The police blamed the Pakistani Taliban for the attack, which hit around the time when the guard was changing at the checkpoint. (The New York Times)

India's Muslims See Bias in Housing

By Emily Wax

MUMBAI -- The sunny apartment had everything Palvisha Aslam, 22, a Bollywood producer, wanted: a spacious bedroom and a kitchen that overlooked a garden in a middle-class neighborhood that was a short commute to Film City, where many of India's Hindi movies are shot. (The Washington Post)

Pakistani Cleric Calls for Islamic Law Nationwide

By Pamela Constable

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, April 17 -- A firebrand Islamist cleric, released on bail after almost two years under house arrest, returned triumphantly Friday to his former mosque in Pakistan's capital, where he called on a crowd of chanting followers to spread the crusade for Islamic law across the... (The Washington Post)

Pakistan Dodges A Bullet

By David Ignatius

How the Obama administration averted a military coup in Islamabad. (The Washington Post)

U.S. Criticizes Pakistan's Deal On Islamic Law

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, April 14 -- The Obama administration said Pakistan's imposition of Islamic law in a northwest valley to quell a Taliban insurgency undermines human rights, while a visiting U.S. senator urged the country to "ratchet up" its urgency in the terror fight. (The Washington Post)

Kerry: Pakistan needs more urgency in terror fight

By NAHAL TOOSI

ISLAMABAD -- A top U.S. senator on Tuesday urged Pakistan to "ratchet up" its sense of urgency in battling the spreading militancy in its northwest, even as the government defended a deal to impose Islamic law in a swath of the region to achieve peace with the Taliban. (The Washington Post)

Afghan Law Ignites Debate on Religion, Sex

By Pamela Constable

KABUL, April 10 -- When Afghanistan's government quietly enacted a sweeping law last month restricting the rights of minority Shiite women, few Afghans were aware of what it said. But since the law's contents became known here just over a week ago, it has provoked an extraordinary public debate o... (The Washington Post)

Slain Pakistani politician helped free American

By STEPHEN GRAHAM

ISLAMABAD -- A separatist politician whose mutilated body was found in Pakistan's restive southwest had helped secure the release of a kidnapped American U.N. worker, the U.S. Embassy said. (The Washington Post)

A Short Fuse in Pakistan

By David Ignatius

Richard Holbrooke and Mike Mullen uncover fresh evidence of chaos in Pakistan. (The Washington Post)

U.S. Envoy Says India Is Not Being Pressured

By Rama Lakshmi

NEW DELHI, April 8 -- U.S. special envoy Richard C. Holbrooke said Wednesday that "India, Pakistan and the U.S. face a common threat" posed by Islamist extremist groups. But Holbrooke, in New Delhi for meetings with top Indian officials after visits to Pakistan and Afghanistan, denied asking Indi... (The Washington Post)

Pakistan, U.S. stress trust, disagree on drones

By Robert Birsel

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan and the United States must build trust as they confront Islamist militant violence, senior officials said on Tuesday, but they failed to resolve disagreement on U.S. drone aircraft strikes in Pakistan. (The Washington Post)

Pakistan's Chief Justice Assails Attorney General Over Taliban Flogging

By JANE PERLEZ
The newly restored judge, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, assailed government officials for not taking up the case until it became a national scandal. (The New York Times)

More Drone Attacks in Pakistan Planned

By ERIC SCHMITT and CHRISTOPHER DREW
Despite threats from the Taliban, the U.S. may expand missile strikes to another haven for militants, senior administration officials said. (The New York Times)

Taliban threaten 2 attacks per week in Pakistan

By ZARAR KHAN

ISLAMABAD -- A suicide bombing at a crowded Shiite mosque south of Pakistan's capital killed 26 people, the latest evidence of how security in the U.S.-allied nation is crumbling well beyond the Afghan border region where al-Qaida and Taliban fighters thrive. (The Washington Post)

With conditions set on aid, Pakistan sharpens tone

By STEPHEN GRAHAM

ISLAMABAD -- When U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke arrives in Pakistan this week he will be publicly feted for President Barack Obama's pledge of massive, long-term aid for a wobbling nation critical to America's strategy for turning around its the war in Afghanistan. (The Washington Post)

Which Way in Afghanistan? Ask Colombia For Directions.

By Scott Wilson

Colombia offers a far better classroom then Iraq for learning how to beat the Taliban. (The Washington Post)

Congress Moves to Set Terms for Pakistan Aid

By Karen DeYoung

Just as it did with Iraq, Congress is moving toward imposing benchmarks that the Pakistani government must meet to qualify for billions of dollars of U.S. military assistance. But the proposed restrictions, introduced in House legislation Thursday, have made both the White House and the Pakistani... (The Washington Post)

Which Way in Afghanistan? Ask Colombia For Directions.

By Scott Wilson

Colombia offers a far better classroom then Iraq for learning how to beat the Taliban. (The Washington Post)

NATO Meeting to Highlight Strains on Afghanistan

By THOM SHANKER and STEVEN ERLANGER
President Obama's strategy significantly Americanizes the war effort, putting new demands on the alliance. (The New York Times)

Detention at Afghan Base Is Subject to U.S. Courts

By CHARLIE SAVAGE
A federal judge ruled that some of the prisoners have a constitutional right to challenge their detention. (The New York Times)