The Pakistani military's push against Taliban strongholds in the Swat Valley has created a forced migration emergency, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Abdullah, a middle-aged farmer from Swat's Matta region, left his apple and peach orchards in their sleepy mountain hamlet two months ago, and moved to a city in the neighboring region of Hazara.
The leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) has been injured in clashes in Pakistan.
Pakistani Army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas says unconfirmed reports suggest Tahir Yuldashev was injured during a Pakistani Air Force strike in the Makeen area of South Waziristan on the night of June 14, Pakistani media outlets reported on June 17.
This decade, Pakistan has been one of the largest recipients of US military aid in the world, receiving almost $12 billion. Yet the security situation there continues to spiral downward.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have different views of how to combat extremism in the region, but their approaches may be growing closer.
Representatives of the two countries at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 29 said more international cooperation and a stronger emphasis on development in their countries could have positive implications for the world as a whole.
The year 2008 saw a shift of focus in the war on terrorism -- with attention moving away from Iraq toward South Asia, and consensus developing among Western leaders that Pakistan must be at the center of the global counterterrorism strategy.
Not long ago, Pakistan was touted as the next big emerging market, whispered in the same breath as Brazil and Indonesia. Today, Pakistan's economy is on its knees.
The section of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate that is responsible for domestic spying on Pakistani politicians has been quietly been shut down.
What would happen if the Taliban's spiritual fathers denounced terrorism? That, in effect, is what has taken place in Deoband, the northern Indian hometown of the austere form of Sunni Islam followed by the Taliban.
