In Tribal Pakistan, a Tide of Militancy

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- In North Waziristan, barbers are ordered not to shave off beards, and thieves have been swiftly beheaded. In Swat, television sets and VCRs have been burned in public. In Dir, religious groups openly recruit teenagers to fight U.S. forces in Afghanistan. In the Khyber area, armed squads have burst into rooming houses, forcing people to pledge to obey Islamic law.

A tide of Islamic militancy is spreading across and beyond the semiautonomous tribal areas of northwest Pakistan that hug the Afghan border, despite the deployment of some 70,000 Pakistani army troops there, according to a variety of people with close family, professional or political ties to the tribal regions.

Buy This Photo Religious academy students in Peshawar, Pakistan, with Wahidullah, right, a teacher and former Taliban fighter. "Under the Taliban there was peace," he said. (By Pamela Constable -- The Washington Post) Who's Blogging? Read what bloggers are saying about this article. FP Passport | blogging on global news, politics, economics and ideas Shining Light In Dark Corners A Newer World Full List of Blogs (5 links) » Most Blogged About Articles On washingtonpost.com | On the web