South Asia: Pakistan and the Himalayan States - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 188

Pass and Hunza was officially opened in 1986. Environ-
mental problems continue to plague this cold and
windswept region. Not only is the pass closed in the win-
ter months, but also landslides frequently render the high-
way impassable. The highway is currently under repair.
Another important event occurred in 1979 when
the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Suddenly , for
the United States, Pakistan became a frontline state, a
strategic barricade against the spread of communism
and Soviet access to the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf.
Aid was restored, and Pakistan became the third-largest
recipient of American aid after Israel and Egypt.
The war in Afghanistan brought millions of
refugees into Pakistan, where they joined with their
ethnic kin, not only in refugee camps but also in eco-
nomic pursuits. In cities, Afghans replaced workers
who had migrated to the Middle East. Afghans who mi-
grated to the United States sent remittances to their rel-
atives in Pakistan. In addition, the war stimulated
commerce in guns and drugs that supported new eco-
nomic investments. However, vital structural problems
were still not addressed.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was ousted in a military coup in
1977 and was later executed for conspiring to murder a
political opponent. In 1988, when Benazir Bhutto, his
daughter, became the youngest and first female leader
of a Muslim state, Pakistan was essentially bankrupt.
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, triggering the Gulf
War, a sudden leap in oil prices, loss of remittances, and
reduction of exports put Pakistan in a critical position.
Assistance was provided by Saudi Arabia in return for
the service of 6,000 Pakistani soldiers deployed as part
of Operation Desert Shield, sponsored by the United
States. Even with additional support from the World
Bank (WB), Pakistan has nowhere near the resources
needed to overcome its economic problems. Moreover,
these are confounded and exacerbated by an increasing
rich-poor gap, rapid population growth (2.3 percent in
2009), increased religious conservatism, and political
instability .
Y ears of military dictatorship, interspersed with
short periods of unstable civilian government, have
been characterized by mismanagement, patronage,
nepotism, corruption, and violence. Leaders have been
deposed, executed, or have died under mysterious cir-
cumstances. Benazir Bhutto held office twice
(1988-1990 and 1993-1997), only to fall each time un-
der corruption charges. General Musharraf became
President in 1999 but in a fierce climate of insurgencies,
political dissension, and periods of declared national

emergencies, was forced to step down in August 2008.
In 2007, Benazir Bhutto returned to run for president
again but was assassinated by Muslim militants on
December 27. This was a devastating blow to many
Pakistanis who believed that she would save the coun-
try . Her husband, Azif Zardari, is now running the gov-
ernment. In recent years economic growth has faltered
while communal strife intensifies.

The War on Terror

Following the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the United States
began military operations in Afghanistan to destroy
Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda bases. President
Musharraf withdrew support for the Muslim, fundamen-
talist Taliban who controlled most of Afghanistan. By
November 2001, Al-Qaeda had escaped to Pakistan' s
Federally Administered T Tribal Areas (FA T A) such as
Waziristan. Eager to solidify his military rule, Musharraf
lent support to the Americans. However, in 2006 heavy
troop losses drove him to make agreements with tribal
leaders in Waziristan that his soldiers would stay away if
the Waziris kept the Taliban out of FA T A. This was vir-
tually impossible, and Taliban youth strengthened their
militancy in FA T A. This indigenous terrorist group
amassed a force of some 30,000 fighters under the com-
mand of Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan alone.
Mehsud was killed in February , 2010.

THE TALIBAN
The Russians invaded Afghanistan in 1979 only to be
fought by the fervent Taliban. The United States supported
the Taliban in their defeat of the Russians in 1989 but then
withdrew . This allowed the Taliban to take over the coun-
try . Schooled in fundamentalist Islamic madrassas and
trained in the rugged mountains, the Taliban quickly killed
most of the maliks (feudal tribal leaders) and enforced dra-
conian rules of behavior, especially for women:

• Sharia law was imposed.
Women could not work outside of the home. Even
female doctors were forbidden from working.
Women could not go to school.
•

If women went outside, they had to be fully covered
with a chador and be accompanied by a male
relative. Exposure of the minutest amount of flesh
brought a public whipping by the moral police.
A woman who was raped or committed adultery
would be stoned to death.