Taliban

In October, President Obama “surprised” America by deciding to halt a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

Under the President’s previous plan, Washington would withdraw most of the 9,800 troops operating in the country by the end of next year, leaving a force of just 1,000. Now, all 9,800 troops will remain for “most” of next year and 5,500 troops will remain in 2017.

In this second and concluding part, the author points out that the Af-Pak region is home to an enterprise that has the potential of creating a Caliphate, which is the clamour of the Daesh, Taliban, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and a host of other Islamist groups that have strong support base in Pakistan.