Word: islamabad
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...Army's three-month-old offensive against the Pakistan Taliban in South Waziristan. And it reinforced a growing perception across the country that the government is in no position to mount a robust response. Stopping determined terrorists is difficult for even the most able governments, but analysts say that Islamabad - whose government is in growing disarray - has failed to take basic steps toward a counterterrorism strategy in the heartlands...
...attack on the volleyball tournament, says retired army brigadier Mehmood Shah, a former head of security in the tribal areas, was an attempt by militants fleeing the South Waziristan offensive to punish the civilian population and apply pressure on Islamabad to negotiate a truce. "But it is making the people more adamant, more convinced in what the army is doing against the militants," he says. Still, for that resolve to hold, the government will have to do more to stem the tide of terror. (See pictures of Pakistan's vulnerable North-West Frontier Province...
...police are not trained to tackle terrorism," says independent security analyst Ayesha Siddiqa. In the capital, Islamabad, which has seen some two dozen bombings in recent years, including the spectacular 2008 attack on the Marriott hotel, the police role has largely been to protect VIPs, she says. "Now they have to deal with a major threat, but have no expertise." Relative to the size of the population, the police are understaffed. And they enjoy little public confidence amid widespread allegations of venality. Other problems listed by Siddiqa include a lack of coordination between various intelligence agencies, poor...
Taxila should be a showcase of that civilization. Today a town about 20 miles northwest of Islamabad, it was a center of Buddhist learning, a must-visit for travelers like Xuanzang seeking Buddhist scripture and wisdom. Formerly part of the Persian Empire, Taxila was one of Alexander's conquests and is today a World Heritage Site. The museum there, started in 1918, is one of Pakistan's finest, with more than 4,000 artifacts from the Gandhara civilization. But no one comes to visit much anymore. Nasir Khan says there have been warnings of a possible attack on the museum...
...lack of archaeologists at many sites has led militants and vandals to close in. Kashmir Smast, about 70 miles northwest of Islamabad, is a Hindu site, not Buddhist, and thus unusual for the area. "But there's no preservation, no one to look after the site," says Dr. Nasim Khan, professor of archaeology at the University of Peshawar. "The local people are damaging the site because of illegal diggings." In Swat, the Taliban have long attempted to destroy the Buddhist heritage of the region. In October 2007, as militants cemented their hold on the former tourist area, the Taliban dynamited...