When George Bush offered Pervez Musharraf the “opportunity to co-operate” with the USA’s war on terrorism, he was in no place to refuse. However, he is in serious danger of alienating a significant sector of his country by working with the USA against fundamentalist Islam. It is no secret that Pakistan has trained and supported many high ranking Taliban officials; “Government policy has been to support the Taliban, give them backing, give them advice, give them help in material fields where they may be lacking”. But the Madrassas have also trained many Pakistani generals and fundamentalism is widespread amongst the militia and the general populace. ABC Australia talks to the very visible militant sectors in Pakistan, spurred on by the Holy wars in Afghanistan and Kashmir and clearly not inclined to alignment with America.

Produced by ABC Australia