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Pakistan Ponders Afghan Future
Wednesday, October 03, 2001
(13:23 GMT) (14:23 UK)
By Daniel Lak / BBC

The Taleban are long-standing allies of Pakistan.

The best that Pakistan can hope for is for the Taleban to reinvent itself as a kinder, gentler Islamic movement.

Fierce tribal loyalties, shifting alliances, convulsive betrayals that leave mountain passes stained with blood and local communities in tatters.

Afghan history may be written on the battlefield, but it is played out in private gatherings where deals are struck or broken -- more often the latter.

This is why the backdrop to the current American-led military build-up, as crucial as it is, is only part of the story of President Bush's anti-terror campaign.

As troops and technology arrive in South and Central Asia, a quiet yet massive effort is going on to bring change to Afghanistan that doesn't involve smart bombs, air strikes or special force operations.
(More: The BBC News Source)
2001 © The BBC

Dan