KEY PLAYERS

Afghan Taliban

The Afghan Taliban is composed primarily of members of the Pashtun tribe who most were educated in the religious schools (madrasses) in Pakistan. Mohammed Omar is the recognized leader of the Afghan Taliban and was de facto head of state of Afghanistan from 1996 until ousted in 2001. He is currently in hiding. If the Afghan Taliban were offered and agreed to share power in Afghanistan, the primary source of conflict in neighbouring Pakistan would be eliminated.  Although the internal conflict in Pakistan was sparked by the war in Afghanistan, it has deep roots and today fuels itself as opposing ideologies fight for power. In order for there to be peace in Pakistan, both the war with the Afghan Taliban must be resolved and the internal Pakistani issues must be resolved.

Pakistani Taliban Groups

Unlike the Afghan Taliban, the 'Pakistani Taliban' is composed of loosely connected groups. They share a desire for the current government of Pakistan to be replaced by an Islamic State based on Shari’a law, and for the withdrawal of foreign Western forces from Afghanistan.

These groups do not share a unified organisational structure and do not always agree on the strategy to achieve their goals. For example, armed clashes among Pakistani Taliban groups have erupted when some individual groups signed a peace agreement.

US President Obama

Since President Obama came to power in January 2009, the number of drone attacks in Pakistan has more than doubled. These drone attacks seriously undermine efforts to establish lasting peace agreements between the Government of Pakistan and the Pakistani Taliban groups. It is also under President Obama that US Special Forces, for the first time, have taken their combat operations inside Pakistan to fight the Afghani Taliban.

These and future decisions by President Obama on the US strategy for securing Afghanistan will profoundly impact the extent and duration of war and conflict inside Pakistan.

Pakistan Government

The Government of Pakistan has proven to be a reliable ally for the United States in its fight against the Afghani Taliban. This decision is not strongly supported by the public who view the US is the greatest threat for the country, not the Taliban. Allegations of corruption in President Asif Ali Zardari's government empowers and enboldens the military in a country when military coups and military rule are part of the political landscape. Recently-exposed diplomatic documents revealed that the Pakistani Army Chief contemplated pressuring Zardari to resign. A non-democratic turn in Pakistan would certainly not bode well for a stable peace with human rights.