nless she wants to wear the burka and remain indoors submissive to males the rest of her life, Fatima better pray the government and its American ally prevail even though she appears to have equal contempt for both. Thoreau is a luxury that can be savored only in civilized societies.

It's a sad situation, but a predictable one. For too many years successive Pakistani governments have played 'footsie' with the Taliban for fear of awakening a civil war. All that time that has passed has only allowed the Taliban to become stronger and more influential. The various governments did nothing to stop the horrifically hateful teachings to their youngsters, again for fear of upsetting the fanatically religious. So now when they realize that confrontation is really the only option, if they want their country top remain a viable nation, they must confront them. It's messy and it's going to get messier. But, let's all pray for a relatively quick and decisive victory for the government forces.

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I second Banjo1's comment.

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I think what Fatima has been trying to say in the past few articles here is that Pakistan is at the point of no return. If it goes over the edge the repercussions will be seen around the world, not just with nukes but with the possible training ground for terrorists. I am a Pakistani so I understand and relate to what she is saying here. She is emotional about what she says but she is saying the right thing. Neither side here is worth being on, everyone has their own agenda that isn't really for the well being of the country. Pakistan is much more important than some realize and foreign interference have had ramifications that have not served anyone well here. Crumbling infrastructure and corruption only serve to make matters worse

Good article as usual from Fatima. What the American populace gloats in is the one-sided media feed they get on the news and nowadays on the net. The ground realities are on the contrary. Pakistan is in dire straights mainly because of American jingoism and self-righteous involvement in the Southeast. We have never benefitted from this fragile alliance. Taliban were a US creation fuelled by their money and supported by the military dictators which has gone terribly haywire and now haunts both the nations equally. Blaming each other isn't going to help hwever. Tamil tiger uprising took over 25 years to come to an end. I am not convinced it has ended either. I see a long struggle for the Pakistani people and see a partial analogy. This will not come to an end with a "Mission Accomplished" slogan. Lets keep praying and keep our fingers crossed. Unity against this unfathomable monster will need resolve and resiliance and Pakistani people(not governments) are known for it.

First and foremost, in a relatively short time, Fatima Bhutto's eloquent and courageous writings have become widely and deeply appreciated in the U.S. and U.K., among other countries. This is simply because they have authenticity, a feature that is most unfortunately lacking among those journalists or bloggers afraid to critique governments and movements in Pakistan while living in Karachi. The comment, though, by Banjo1 that "Thoreau is a luxury to be savored only in civilized societies," is too much to bear. As one of the university professors at Columbia who felt priviliged to teach Fatima Bhutto because of her academic brilliance, and especially to recommend the writings of Thoreau, one needs to note that Thoreau inspired Gandhi to apply civil disobedience to extremely uncivilized political systems, first in South Africa and then British India. Gandhi's repeated acknowledgment of this in turn prompted Martin Luther King to revisit Thoreau and devise forms of civil disobedience for use in uncivilized areas of the U.S. Believe it or not, there are still Americans today who remain committed to Thoreau's principles precisely because they are among the few truths that remai

There is no doubt that Pakistan is going through a critical phase which has the whole of Pakistan (and the world) very rightly concerned, but Fatima Bhutto's sensational descriptions of "everyday life" in the country are as far removed from reality and nuance as the worst hit-and-run American reportage. Nothing in her piece comes even close to what the majority of people in the cities (and certainly the rural areas) feel or to the rhythm of their normal lives, which any visitor who has not already bought into this kind of reportage, can see for themselves. Perhaps it feels that way to her given the cocoon she lives in, since she rarely leaves the comfort of her palatial (inherited) houses in Karachi or Larkana. I would hardly like to paper over the problems Pakistan faces (many of them due to the feudal-minded aristocracy Fatima is part of) but it is incredibly easy to sit on the fence, as she does here. Even her facts are suspect, since I have yet to come across any statement from the army that "no civilians have been harmed" in the military operation in Swat. It seems Fatima Bhutto, despite her very public disdain for her aunt Benazir, is following well in her footsteps: she too played to the American gallery assuming that people back home would never discover her sensationalism. And like her, she is becoming a darling of the uninformed.

Join India Ms!