Citation

Schmidle N. World Affairs 2009; 172(2): 12-21.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, World Affairs Institute, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.3200/WAFS.172.2.12-21

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Nicholas Schmidle explains how Talibs' acts of solving day-to-day issues of the local people led to the Talibanization of nortwestern Pakistan. Nicholas explains how he took help from the Talibs to get his money back from a Pakistan resident who was not paying up for the car sold to him. The Taliban had become known in the borderlands for settling land disputes, arresting supposed criminals, and meting out quick justice. Nicholas explains how the Taliban had established checkpoints throughout the valley in Dara Adam Khel and scared off the police through a campaign of ambushes and suicide attacks. People will continue to support the Taliban as long as local authorities seem incapable of settling financial disputes. Pakistan is embroiled in two major battles, with one featuring helicopters and artillery in the mountains of Swat and the Tribal Areas, while the other involves tens of millions of Pakistanis around the country.

Language: en