The Enemy Within: It’s out of bounds for most Pakistanis let alone a TV crew from Australia, but Foreign Correspondent has secured rare access to a deeply troubled corner of Pakistan – South Waziristan. The Pakistan Army is keen to show how it’s managed to kick out the Pakistan Taliban and restore a more conventional order to this neck of the so-called Tribal Agencies. But is this a bona fide and enduring success story or just a fleeting chapter in a long history of changing rule in a heavily disputed area that presses up against Afghanistan and a hornet’s nest of Islamic extremists? In a newly reconstructed market-place in one village, reporter Eric Campbell gets a sense of the complexities and vagaries of power. Many villagers claim life was just fine under the Taliban, and the army’s intervention was unnecessary and destructive. "No one was afraid because they were all locals, and all were Pakistanis. Everything was open - the markets - everyone was roaming around as normal. Everything was normal." Villager, South Waziristan. A shopkeeper tells Campbell, the Taliban were amenable rulers and he had no complaints. Equally, he says most have no problems with the army occupation of the area. He and others in the shop then joke about kidnapping the Foreign Correspondent crew for ransom. Pakistan’s foremost expert on Islamists in the region, Ahmed Rashid, claims the American military focus on Afghanistan and the Pakistan Government’s duplicity there has radicalised and emboldened a local variant of the Taliban that’s now bent on destroying the Pakistan government and installing a Sharia dictatorship. “There has been this double game that has gone on for many years, of Pakistan supporting the NATO presence in Afghanistan and at the same time allowing the Afghan Taliban to operate against the NATO forces. There is now a full-scale extremist movement in Pakistan that is trying to overthrow the State.” AHMED RASHID For the time being – as the authority of the Army prevails – a major effort is unfolding to win back the support of the locals, including the construction of a high school for girls. That’s where we find Australian aid worker Jennifer McKay and an optimistic assessment of the future in South Waziristan. “In the post conflict areas, education’s really critical to you know countering extremism and just generally the future prosperity and peace, so it’s a very important investment. It’s one more way of keeping the Taliban at bay” JENNIFER McKAY Aid Worker Broadcast: 17/09/2013: Reporter: Eric Campbell
Posted on: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 16:01:55 +0000