Why they love the Taliban in Pakistan...

It may be difficult to understand, but in many of the tribal areas where Pakistan's ethnic Pakhtun population live, the Taliban are very popular.

"If the Taliban succeed, it will mean Pakistan will go backwards," says Sohail Janvi, a mobile phone dealer whom I met in Kohat, two hours' drive south of Peshawar, recently. "But," he adds, "the government gives us nothing [and] we do not want Americans here," referring to the US missile strikes that have killed 687 civilians in the past three years. According to the Pakistani security analyst Amir Mir, at most 6% of missile strikes hit their intended militant targets. More...

See also:

1. Pakistan, the Taliban and U.S. involvement...
2. Taliban execute young couple who eloped...
3. Taliban threatened schools close in Pakistan...