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Journalism of Courage
In the last two months, Taliban militants have suddenly tightened the noose on this city, one of Pakistan8217;s biggest, establishing bases in surrounding towns and, in daylight, abducting residents for high ransoms.
Militants move unchallenged out of the lawless tribal region, just 10 miles away, in convoys of heavily armed, long haired men. They have turned up at courthouses in nearby towns, ordering judges to stay away.
On Thursday they stormed a women8217;s voting station on the city outskirts, and they are now regularly kidnapping people from the city8217;s bazaars and homes.
The threat to Peshawar is a sign of the Taliban8217;s deepening penetration of Pakistan and of the expanding danger that the militants present to the entire region, including nearby supply lines for NATO and American forces in Afghanistan.
NATO and American commanders have complained for months that the Government8217;s policy of negotiating with the militants has led to more cross-border attacks in Afghanistan by the Taliban based in Pakistan8217;s tribal areas.
But the brazen campaign of intimidation in Peshawar shows that the Taliban threat now cuts deeply on both sides of the border.
There were reports that the Frontier Corps planned an operation in the coming days in the Khyber agency, adjacent to the city, to clean out Islamic militants.
But whether there was sufficient resolve to push back the startling gains by the militants was a point of debate.
