The New York Times reports:
A suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to a crowded Shiite mosque just south of the capital on Sunday, killing at least 26 people. It was the third suicide attack in Pakistan in 24 hours, in a sign that the Pakistani Taliban are overwhelming the nation’s security forces.
Pakistan looks like an incredible mess. The federal government is largely fictional and has much less influence than I think many realize, signaling that the peace-loving majority is relatively powerless; while the army, which contains notable radical elements, is largely in control. US aid is mostly unaccounted for but without it Pakistan might easily collapse.
A significant portion of Pakistani militias are mostly focused on targeting India and many are as intent on destroying their rival sect as they are the West. Waziristan and other rural western provinces don't recognize the government but oppose the militants.
The Taliban and al-Qaeda are successfully targeting Pakistanis, making a mockery of the government, showing no regard for the people of Pakistan and are gradually morphing a fragile situation into an uncontrollable nightmare.
The country seems to be treading on savagery. And again, this is a nuclear nation capable of triggering a war that will almost inevitably involve the great powers and can decimate much of civilization.
NYT just put out their analysis of the situation, describing Pakistan as a "reluctant partner" to the US in counterterrorism. Sounds about right, but considering that the Pakistani government is only influential insofar as the army approves of its actions, the real issue in my view is of radical components within the establishment.
Visit my blog The Daily Musing