Publication

This brief addresses the implications of the Taliban terrorist attack on an army school in Peshawar in December 2014 for Pakistan. The author contends that one major outcome of the attack might be that the government takes real action against extremist groups in the state. He then discusses a number of developments that have changed the environment within which Islamic extremists operate in Pakistan and Afghanistan, including 1) the appointment of a new army head in Pakistan; 2) the end of the presidential contest in Afghanistan which saw Ashraf Ghani secure the presidency; and 3) the rise of the Islamic State (IS).