theatlantic:
The Malala Effect: Pakistanis Are Angry, Want to Finish Off the Taliban
Pakistani politicians, media, and civil society are pushing for a robust offensive to finish off the Taliban in the aftermath of the militants’ shooting of a girl peace campaigner. The October 9 shooting of 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai in northwestern Swat Valley has led to a groundswell of calls for Islamabad to abandon its long reluctance to take on extremist sanctuaries in the North Waziristan tribal region, on Pakistan’s western border with Afghanistan.The region is home to Pakistani and Afghan Taliban factions and allied international jihadists. For years, Islamabad resisted considerable pressure from Western capitals to launch an offensive in the region.But the government and the military are now finding it difficult to resist growing domestic pressure for such an assault.
Read more. [Image: Mohsin Raza/Reuters]
