After years of looking the other way, the Pakistani government has been taking it to the Taliban in a significant way. Today, Taliban leaders have finally confirmed that the terrorist leader of Pakistani Taliban Baitullah Mehsud is dead as the result of joint US-Pakistan operations. This is a huge victory and deals a great blow to the militant organization, throwing the succession fight into deadly chaos.

Pakistani intelligence officials also said there were indications of violent infighting over who would succeed him, and reported briefly that one of his possible successors, Hakimullah Mehsud, had been killed. But on Tuesday, Taliban leaders tried to dispel reports of Hakimullah Mehsud’s death or the impression of a rift in their leadership. Two men claiming to be Hakimullah Mehsud and Waliur Rahman, another Taliban commander, contacted several media outlets to confirm Baitullah Mehsud’s death and put up a unified front. They also announced that Hakimullah Mehsud would take over leadership of the Pakistani Taliban, while Mr. Rahman would lead the Taliban in South Waziristan, the rugged tribal region that had been Baitullah Mehsud’s stronghold. But Pakistani officials immediately cast doubt on the claims and about whether Hakimullah Mehsud was alive or dead. The Pakistani interior minister, Rehman Malik, contends that Hakimullah Mehsud is dead. Analysts said the public admission of Baitullah Mehsud’s death came after it became increasingly difficult for the Taliban to continue denying it.

The Washington Post reports today that the Pakistani military is not letting up, increasing attacks on militant forces in Southern Waziristan.

Pakistani helicopter gunships stepped up attacks on Taliban positions in the South Waziristan region on Wednesday, a day after militants confirmed that their leader was dead and announced his successor. ... Security forces have made significant gains in an offensive against the Pakistani Taliban in the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad, since late April, and have also been attacking Mehsud's men in South Waziristan. Helicopter gunships attacked militant hideouts in Madi Jam, an area 20 km (12 miles) east of South Waziristan's main town of Wana, on Wednesday after Taliban attacked a military convoy, killing two soldiers, intelligence officials and residents said. Residents in Wana saw armoured personnel carriers heading toward Madi Jam. "Helicopters dropped leaflets asking people to leave the fighting area," Mohammad Aslam, a resident of Madi Jam, told Reuters by telephone.

In addition to fighting militancy, the Pakistani government is working towards real reform to increase democratization in their own government.

Pakistan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Wajid Shamsul Hasan has said PPP was committed to the implementation of Charter of Democracy in letter and spirit as the document was the best way to consolidate democracy in the country.

Pakistan is building momentum and acting as an example to other nations struggling with religious extremism and anti-democratic forces. Democratic nations like the US must continue supporting the Pakistani government, which has shown a willingness to make the hard decisions necessary to move towards playing a vital role in the international community.

The attacks on Christians in the Gojra region of Pakistan over the weekend shocked the world. Especially troubling was the reaction – lack thereof – on the part of Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N. Today, though, new allegations have arisen that Sharif wasn't just silent, he may have been complicit. Today's Asia Times reports that the attacks were carefully planned by Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists in the region. Bishops in the region have leveled allegations against Nawaz Sharif, the politician who controls the area, as an accomplice in the attacks.

A leading bishop, Almas Hameed Masih, however, takes a different view and he has registered a complaint case with the police against the district's entire administration, which was handpicked by the province's ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), led by former premier Nawaz Sharif. ... "There are so many question marks in this whole event," Rahman Malik, an advisor to the prime minister on interior matters, told Asia Times Online. "I will not say anything because a judicial inquiry is being set up. But our biggest fear is that the whole event could have been engineered for some vested interests," Malik said. Malik refused to comment on Bishop Masih accusing the PML-N of complicity. "Like all other aspects, we are reviewing this aspect and I will not say anything before an inquiry finishes." Investigations by Asia Times Online indicate that the attackers in Gojra comprised two main groups - Muslim clerics of different schools of thought, and non-political actors including traders' associations. The PML-N, the largest political force in the town, appears to have been the binding force, led by local party president Abdul Qadir Awan

As I've well noted before, Nawaz Sharif has a troubling history of kow-towing to radical Islamists including Osama bin Laden himself. Most people don't really believe that Sharif is an Islamist at heart - he's much too much of a playboy. But there is historical evidence that Sharif has in the past been willing to use radical Islamism as a means of seizing power, and, despite his recent assurances that he's done with that, new concerns are arising in connection with these attacks on Christians. In fact, the government has issued a warning to Sharif not to attempt to use Islamic radicals to destabilize the current government and seize power.

If indeed the PML-N is implicated in the attack on the Christians, one can only speculate on its motives. A few weeks back, Nawaz Sharif created a political storm when he suggested that presidential powers be curtailed. The military's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and a Washington envoy have immediately intervened, warning Sharif against taking any action that could destabilize the government and its battle against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Nawaz Sharif has been cozying up to diplomats and representatives of the current American Administration in an attempt to gain favor. This is a dangerous situation. We cannot allow Nawaz Sharif to become the next Ahmadinejad, especially in a country that is already a demonstrated nuclear power.

The latest violence in Pakistan has targeted not the state, but religious minorities in the country. Over the weekend, Christian residents of Gojra were targeted by an angry mob of Islamic activists who sought revenge for alleged acts of desecration of the Qur'an. When the dust cleared, there were at least seven dead and dozens of homes burned to the ground. Amidst the destruction, one person has been strangely silent -- Nawaz Sharif. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the violence, immediately dispatching the Minister for Minority Affairs along with police and Rangers to protect Christian citizens.

Zardari said the state must protect civilians under attack from a handful of vengeful and armed groups, APP reported, citing presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar. A judicial inquiry will be held into the incident that will “give some comfort to the victims that the state is not biased,” the president said. Units of the Rangers security force are in the Gojra area keeping order, Zardari said.

It was quickly discovered that the alleged desecration was fabricated, and that no anti-Islamic provocations had occurred.

Punjab Chief Minister Rana Sanaullah has ruled out purported ‘desecration’ of the Quran by people of Christian community, which is seen as the prime reason behind Saturday’s communal violence in Gojra town in which seven Christians, including three women, were burnt alive and over dozen wounded. “Authorities had investigated the allegation of a Quran being defiled, and our initial reports say that there has not been any incident of desecration,” Sanaullah said.

Particularly troubling, though, is the seeming absence of Nawaz Sharif, leader of the PML(N) which controls Punjab. New information is emerging that suggest that the violence may have been exacerbated, at least in part, by PML(N) officials.

The reaction was further inflamed by a person Qadeer Awan (who is an official of PML-N) who sent people to Jhang to import activists, some of whom came masked and surrounded the Christian village. There was firing into the village and some christians defending the village by firing in the air to scare away the people. Police was present but took only evasive action and used teargassing. This continued for 5 hours and then busloads of people joined the mob, with the police backing away, ransacked the entire village and burnt six Christians alive and shot dead one.

Witnesses claim that the PML(N) controlled local police failed to protect the minority community as the violence broke out. With PML(N) leader Nawaz Sharif's recent attempts to remake himself as a political moderate following his history of cooperation with Islamic radicals, one would think he would want to quickly make statements condemning the attacks and stand up for the rights and defense of Pakistan's minority communities. Instead, his silence speaks volumes.