If it's part of your country, it's under your control

ARTICLE: Clinton: Pakistani Government 'Abdicating' to Extremist Forces, By Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, April 23, 2009

Tough words from Clinton, but the truth should be told. The FATA are a collection of tribes attached to Pakistan's territory, but it's never really been part of any sovereign nation called Pakistan. The FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) does not come under Pakistan's constitution. Islamabad has agencies "run" the areas much like U.S. agencies once ran Native American reservations in the 19th century (now it's combined under the Bureau for Indian Affairs inside the Interior Department). Much like our current reservations, the FATA are quasi-indepedent, more associated with Pakistan than ruled by it.

You can say Pakistan can't "abdicate" that which it never ran, and you'd be even more right.

Comments

[stuart abrams]

It strikes me that Holbrooke, with his experience in Yugoslavia, really is the ideal guy to deal with Pakistan and Afghanistan. Like Yugoslavia, what is really going on here is the unravelling of two fake states, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Taliban is gaining strength in the Pashtun areas of Pakistan, just as it did in the Pashtun areas of Afghanistan. Seems like we need a Pashtunistan. Should be an independent Baluchistan too. The sooner somebody deals with this openly and directly, the sooner we can get some real countries that can follow India's path to the New Core. Also deals with the nukes that make everybody so nervous. The collapse of the Soviet Union didn't create a nuclear threat. The nukes stay with Punjab and Sindh, just like the Soviet nukes stayed with Russia.

[Louis Heberlein]

Look, is that Kim standing on top of that hill?

[Javaid Akhtar]

If Kashmir had been taken on head-on , we might not have seen India- Pakistan playing out their squabbles in Afghanistan or Balouchistan , which they both do ( in addition to Kashmir and the opposing home territories).Noboby had the gumption to 'third -party ' the solution because India forbade it and the rest of the world duly followed.So...I don't see any real serious 3rd party effort that would succeed in even approaching the the comparatively greater task of controlling the dismemberment of Pakistan ( without resorting to scary tales of loose nukes which are always overplayed )Pakistan has a growing asset class as the 'Economist' put's it , its ."look at me ..I'm dangerous..Aid me up or I'm going dooown......"( well something like that ).I think we should'nt underestimate Pakistans ability to remain & evolve in some strange suspension between seemingly bizarre & irreconcilable forces that balance each other in some strange way while all the time increasing its value in its strongest asset class all the time.