Syed Saleem Shahzad: THE FIGHT FOR PAKISTAN'S POLITICAL SOUL, Part 1

"After Musharraf, neither the Indians nor the Americans knew who was in charge of the country. The army chief's visit aims to sort out this problem with a clear-cut strategy,” a source said of Kiani's visit. Whether Kiani is the man to do this is another matter. In conversations with senior representatives of the media, he has indicated that the military does not want to intervene in the affairs of the government. The trouble is, the situation is rapidly being controlled by non-state actors, and the agreement in Malakand is a major milestone in this regard. The JI, which boycotted general elections early last year and therefore rapidly disappeared into political oblivion, has been quick to claim "ownership" of the Taliban's victory in Swat and other areas as a victory of Islamic forces. Its chief in NWFP, Sirajul Haq, was the first leader to hold a press conference to endorse the agreement. The JI has also sent a message to all its members saying that the lawyers' protest should be the "Jamaat-i-Islami's show". The JI sees this as a turning point, where JI-led countrywide protests against the government could draw together scattered Islamic elements in the urban centers under its umbrella, much like the Taliban did in NWFP.