Mehsud and Maulana Fazlullah are among the more dreaded commanders of the jihad and held directly responsible for the violence in Waziristan and Swat. To fight them the Pakistani army is believed to have deployed more than 100,000 troops in the Northwestern Frontier Province (NWFP) and in the tribal areas that border Afghanistan. It is here that the remnants of Osama bin Laden’s army are said to hide and from here that the resurgence of the Taliban is said to have occurred.

In Islamabad I meet one of Benazir’s former Intelligence chiefs, Masood Sharif Khattak, who believes that the root of the problem is American support for Pakistan’s military dictators. He said it was time for Musharraf to go. “I think if he really believes in Pakistan he would resign. We need a government of national unity under whose supervision free and fair elections should be held. Then there has to be dialogue with those who are behind the violence. It is the only way.”

Go Musharraf Go, is the slogan of the protesters in Lahore’s streets. The rest of the slogan is in Punjabi and urges Pakistan’s former military dictator to take his uniform off and wash it, then go to America and cry because his show is over. “Go Musharraf Go, Vardi Laah key dho, Amreeka ja key ro, Tu banda number do, Muk gaya tera show. Go Musharraf Go. “