Book description
The tribal region located on the frontier between Pakistan and
Afghanistan is the centre of terrorist activity in the world today.
Since 2001, Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters have regrouped here, using its
mountainous terrain as a safe haven in which to train, plan major terror
attacks, send insurgents to Afghanistan, and recruit ever-younger
fighters. In this essential book Imtiaz Gul follows the trail of
militancy to show how a fatal mix of ultra-conservatism, economic
under-development and an absence of law and order have radicalized a
region and its people, with grave consequences for the stability of
Pakistan. Using a wealth of local knowledge, and interviews with
officials, militant leaders and followers, this is the definitive
account of the place that poses an international security risk unlike
any other. Imtiaz Gul has reported on Islamist groups in Afghanistan
and Pakistan for many years and is perhaps the world's leading authority
on Waziristan. He is the author of
The Unholy Nexus
(2002) and editor of Islam and Liberalism
(2002). He is currently head of the Centre for Research and Security
Studies in Islamabad, Pakistan.
