Dispatch From Pakistan: Headed For A Failed State?

Perhaps no news from Pakistan should surprise us anymore; this large and oh-so-critical nation in the struggle against militant Islam is teetering in many ways. And yet, Nick Schifrin’s note from Islamabad this morning packs a wallop. Here it is: There is a saying in Pashto that translates as "Every passing moment is better than the next one here."
Never has that been a more accurate description of the country’s security situation. Law and order in Pakistan has deteriorated to the point at which people in Islamabad are openly questioning whether the writ of the state will soon fail in the capital. The peace deal recently signed by the government that places a third of the Northwest Frontier Province under Islamic law has given the Taliban free reign to expand their influence. As we’ve reported before, the Taliban moved into an area south of Swat known as Buner, where locals were finally overpowered a few weeks ago after managing to hold off the Taliban. The police have closed up shop, staying in their stations. Residents from Buner now living in Islamabad, fewer than 100 miles away, tell horrific stories of fleeing an unstoppable force of foreign militants: "First my marble factory in the area was captured and then my house and now they all were on the loose to destroy everything in the village," says one. "I lifted my aging mother in my arms along with my son and wife to cross the mountains to reach the nearby road and hired a taxi to reach Islamabad. I cannot sleep as the families of my brothers, sisters and their children were still trapped in the village." In Swat itself, militants have begun patrolling the streets again, disregarding the premise of the sharia law agreement: that they would lay down their weapons in return for imposing Islamic law. The Taliban have kidnapped a handful of people in the last few days, and if anyone doubted their true intentions, the person who negotiated the deal on behalf of the government recently called democracy and the country’s Supreme Court "un-Islamic," saying that under the new rules in the Northwest, supreme court decisions no longer applied. The Taliban spokesman also welcomed Osama bin Laden to settle in Swat: "Osama can come here. Sure, like a brother they can stay anywhere they want. Yes, we will help them and protect them." The police, despite receiving more than $300 million under President Musharraf, are woefully unequipped to do anything. And the army, as of now, has decided not to step in. And then there’s Islamabad. Two women dressed in burkas were walking the streets of the capital today, stopping at random houses asking who lived inside — presumably looking for diplomats, NGOs, foreigners, etc. We’re not sure who they were. Diplomats who used to drive around in regular cars are now switching to armored SUVs with armed escorts. Western officials who read intelligence reports have rarely sounded more scared. "It’s all very depressing," one said. "It’s hard to stay optimistic about the place."