Grand Trunk Road

Pakistani security forces last week blocked the main artery into the South Waziristan tribal area from Afghanistan. The writer argues that the Taliban needs to keep supply lines open in order to move more men across the border into Pakistan. By keeping up the fighting, the militants hope to derail the US and Pakistan’s original plan for dealing with the Taliban which was to “chop off” the more hardline elements through special operations by US-trained Pakistani units and then leave the local Jirgas to attempt to find a middle ground with the remaining, more moderate elements. Unfortunately, the military operations in Swat and Al-Qaeda’s “chaos strategy” after the Lal Masjid operation has put a halt to these plans and the Pakistan government is now faced with the decision of how far to go to against people like Mehsud.

Article: Another D-Day for Pakistan over militants
Author: Syed Saleem Shahzad
Publication: The Asia Times Online

Every spring in Kandahar, the fighting dies down for a few weeks in April and May as all the young men are busy harvesting the poppy crop. Once the crops are harvested, however, the fighting returns with a vengeance as young men, flush in the pocket from their work on the farm, are able to afford better ammunition and supplies. “Whatever the reason, the escalating violence of each summer is sickeningly predictable - so predictable, in fact, that pharmacists in Kandahar city are stocking extra medicines in anticipation of higher casualties and increased sales.”

War takes time out for opium windfall
Author: Katherine O’Neill and Graeme Smith
Publication: The Globe and Mail