A former chief secretary of the NWFP has recently written as follows about South Waziristan: "Taxes are collected from the following assets: houses, cars, buses, trucks, petrol pumps, shops, water mills, dispensaries, etc. Anyone who has a dispute can deposit a fixed sum of money in the Taliban office. Notices are served, adjudicators are appointed as a Jirga; they give decisions, which are stamped by the local Taliban head and enforced. The Taliban have vehicles and paid security personnel to ensure law and order. They check the roads and ensure order".
The state has to be saved from collapse and reformed; and the political parties have to form a consensus - in addition to the consensus against President Musharraf - against the forces of chaos let loose in Pakistan in the name of religion. That is the only way they can be sure that they will be able to rule well and effectively under democracy. The fact is that Pakistan may be in more trouble because it has been in the eye of the jihadi storm, but it shares the crisis with the rest of the Islamic world.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
