The face of Terror has changed dramatically
The face of Terror has changed dramatically. Today, major terrorist attacks are marked by their meticulous preparation and deadly execution as the Mumbai attacks of 26/11 have clearly established.u00a0 The most important planning centre for these operations is the tribal region located on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Following the U.S. action in Afghanistan in December 2001, many Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters escaped and settled down in these regions where, historically, the writ of the state has always been weak.
Taking advantage of the inhospitable terrain and the porous border, Al Qaeda militants of multiple ethnic origins regrouped. In 2008 alone, they launched over fifty suicide missions which have inflicted more than six thousand casualties in attacks across the world.
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In these remote valleys the fatal mix of ultra-conservatism, economic under-development, religious obscurantism and the absence of law and justice has resulted in a cauldron of militancy which is being fed and fuelled by the shadowy presence of the Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Ever-younger fighters are being recruited for suicide missions while music, shaving and the education of girls are proscribed by increasingly powerful clerics.
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Drawing on his long familiarity with the region, eminent Pakistani journalist Imtiaz Gul follows the trail of militancy and the way it has evolved under Al Qaeda's influence in tribal areas. With its wealth of detail, first person accounts of encounters with local officials, militant leaders and followers, this is a path-breaking account of the radical transformation of these militant groups and the death and destruction that they have wrought.
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