"I love Lahore. As an Urdu poet I have had two books published in Lahore and consider it my second home in Pakistan."

Yes it pays to advertise Mr Khan...

"Taliban" appears to be the politicly correct term used by Pakistani moderates to mean "Muslim extremists". Such extremists have existed for more than 1,000 years in various forms. Allocating what is wrong with Pakistan to some theoretically external force (like the "Taliban") is just too plain convenient.

All this is not to say that extremist Christians, Jews and Maoists even extremist Hindus aren't damaging the Middle East and/or South Asia as well.

Pete

Nice piece.

Given that awareness of Pakistan's role in international terrorism is growing, it's unfortunate that so few seem to be aware that international terrorism begins with domestic terrorism which in turn is a stepping stone to state-sponsored terrorism.

It pays to take a look just across the border and see the differences.

I've often wondered how India has managed to retain its democracy given the presence of such powerful religious groups and given the vastness of the country and the inevitable presence of corruption. Part of the answer is in the thriving liberalism of the culture, as can be seen from the Bollywood productions. This in turn goes hand in hand with a free media, which India has in spades. From the raucous coverage of parliament to the 24 hour camera teams roaming Calcutta, the country's media does very well, I think. It mightn't be the most sophisticated at times, but it's certainly free, I think.

Thus it comes as no surprise that these movements target the cultural icons that symbolize liberalism. In Pakistan, these movements have strength because they have a degree of public support.

Make no mistake, these kinds of attacks provide practice and provide the foundation for attacks on human targets.