Pakistan: behind the violence
We discuss the latest suicide attack in Pakistan’s northwest and what could be done to pacify the region.
A suicide bomb attack in northwest Pakistan has left at least 40 people dead and many more injured.
Saturday’s bombing took place at a World Food Programme distribution centre in Bajaur near the Afghan border. The suicide bomber attacked a crowd of people queuing for aid.
This comes barely one day after five simultaneous attacks involving at least 150 militants.
The volatile region is said to be at the core of Pakistan’s fight against terrorism. And yet, it is fairly lawless and a hotbed of the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Just what is really behind this renewed violence? And how could Pakistan, the US or even NATO pacify this region?
Inside Story, with presenter Sohail Rahman, discusses with Imtiaz Gul, a terrorism expert and author of several books including The most dangerous place: Pakistan’s lawless tribal region; Shanaz Wazir Ali, a member of parliament in the PPP and also special advisor on the social sector to the prime minister; and Syed Pirzada, a strategic affairs analyst.
This episode of Inside Story aired from Saturday, December 25, 2010.