Trump Travel Ban, Other Pressures Lead Pakistan to Rein in Islamist Militants by Pamela Constable, Washington Post
To U.S. and international officials, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed is a terrorist who orchestrated a bloody urban siege that killed 166 people in India in 2008. But to his many devout followers in Pakistan, he is a champion of Islamic values and Kashmiri independence from India.
To U.S. and international officials, Shakil Afridi is a courageous man who helped the United States track down and kill Osama bin Laden in 2011. But to many Pakistanis, he is a traitor who sold his services to a Western adversary of Islam and should remain in prison.
Therein lies the conundrum facing Pakistani officials today as they scramble to forestall punitive actions by the Trump administration - and ease pressure from other foreign partners, including China - without provoking turmoil at home, especially among Muslim militants the state has long coddled as proxies against India.
Suddenly confronted with a U.S. president who has declared war against Islamist extremism and has expressed little interest in the long history of political accommodation and security alliances between Washington and Islamabad, officials here are seeking a middle ground that may no longer exist…