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Syed Talat Hussain In the short-term, which is the dominant concern, Washington wants a smooth, bloodless, uncomplicated withdrawal of soldiers and sinews of its $2-trillion war from Afghanistan. It is positioning its air and sea-based resources to remove any hurdle that could subvert the process, but would obviously need Pakistan’s full assurance that it will extend a helping hand (both hands in fact) and commit to dealing with complexities that might pop up. Pakistan is saying “yes”. It wants all lines of withdrawal to stay open and secure through Pakistan’s jurisdiction. Pakistan is saying “sure”.  It also wants the Taliban to behave while it winds up its tent. Pakistan is expected to take the lead in achieving this goal. Pakistan is saying, “trying our best.”  It also wants Pakistan to do intelligence sharing far more deeply than it has done so far. Withdrawal means less intel gathering capacity (other than that capacity that is tech-based). Pakistan is expected to be a sp...

Syed Talat Hussain Quietly, but emphatically organized terrorism is making a return to Pakistan. Two provinces, Balochistan and Khayber Pakhtunkhwa, bordering Afghanistan, and, traditionally, the starting point and target of induced violence, have witnessed a steady increase in terrorist activity in the past months. Sindh too has seen attacks in Ghotki, Karachi, and Larkana. In Balochistan Mand, Turbat, Bolan apart from other areas Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) combined with firing have taken precious lives of law enforcement forces. Across KP’s Waziristan area even more frequent terrorism has occurred. North Waziristan, the old stronghold of Haji Gul Bahadur and also support base of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement has been particularly violent. Gun-battles, targeted killings, encounters---the full range of terrorism has been on display with audacity and planning. Kohat and Peshawar are also on the radar for heightened terrorism concerns. A few things are obvious from these develo...