Dr. Samina Ahmed of the International Crisis Group will discuss the Crisis Group's recent report on the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.

The Taliban and other foreign militants, including al-Qaeda sympathizers, have taken shelter since 2001 in Pakistan's Pashtun-majority Federally Administered Tribal Areas bordering Afghanistan. Using the region to regroup, reorganize and rearm, they are launching increasingly severe cross-border attacks on Afghan and international military personnel, with the support and active involvement of Pakistani militants.

The Musharraf government's ambivalent approach and failure to take effective action is destabilizing Afghanistan; Kabul's allies, particularly the U.S. and NATO, who are now responsible for security in the bordering areas, should apply greater pressure on it to clamp down on the pro-Taliban militants. But the international community, too, bears responsibility by failing to support democratic governance in Pakistan, including within its troubled tribal belt. Policy recommendations for the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan are given as well as guidance for the international community.

This important report from the International Crisis Group, "Pakistan's Tribal Areas: Appeasing the Militants," is available online.

Speakers

• Dr. Samina Ahmed
  South Asia Project Director, International Crisis Group
• Christine Fair, Moderator
  U.S. Institute of Peace

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