Pakistan Rural vs. Urban Twofer from The Wilson Quarterly

In The Wilson Quarterly, Zahid Hussain opines that Pakistan’s remote and poorly understood tribal region has emerged as key to the future of both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

As the United States struggles to broker an endgame to the decade-old war in Afghanistan, an arid mountain region in northwestern Pakistan not much larger than Vermont has emerged as the key to the beleaguered Afghan state’s future – and perhaps Pakistan’s as well…

Also in TWQ, Michael Kugelman responds to Hussain in what he, or TWQ headline editors, deem as “The Whole Truth “

… Yet Pakistan’s cities also suffer from grinding poverty, high unemployment, and natural resource constraints. With Pakistan urbanizing rapidly, these problems will likely worsen. Such conditions, coupled with the strong urban influence of deeply conservative Islamic ideologies, are helping fuel the extremism now afflicting Pakistan’s cities…