Since 9/11 Pakistan has become so much a part of the global security grid that adverse developments there can send shock waves through the international system. Sadly, this proud and attractive country with much potential has become one of the main centres of international terrorism and extremism and has been drifting towards increased instability. There are no easy options available to arrest these trends.

Much of the remnants of Al Qaeda, including Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, are believed to be hiding in the remote tribal areas of Pakistan where they have established a safe haven. They are reported to have regrouped, become stronger and acquired greater ability to plan attacks against targets abroad than anytime since 2001. There are also a host of home-grown Pakistani extremist Islamic organizations, some of which, used in the past by the Pakistani state to fight the Indians in Kashmir, have now turned against their patron. Further, the Pashtun belt of Pakistan is widely believed to be a base area for the recruitment and training of neo-Taleban fighters waging war against NATO forces and the government of President Hamid Karzai across the border in Afghanistan. As NATO forces incur more casualties in Afghanistan at the hands of the neo-Taleban, pressure seems to be mounting in Washington for some kind of action against the sanctuaries in Pakistan. Meanwhile anti-Americanism has grown and support for President Pervez Musharraf among the people has plummeted.

The Pakistani state's writ in the tribal areas, weak even in better times, has deteriorated. The bloody Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) affair showed the confidence and willingness of the militants to take on the state even in the capital Islamabad. Its aftermath has been marked by increased unrest in the Pashtun belt and a spate of suicide bombings in the country. An embattled President Musharraf has vowed to take on and destroy the monster of extremism in the country. But is he really able to do so after it has grown to such proportions?

How has Pakistan allowed itself to become a hotbed of terrorism and extremism, even though, in the overall population of the country, the extremists remain a minority?