A government official begged me not to write anything harmful to national interests because the Government would “take [it] out on minorities”, of which he is a member. The newspapers that once charmed with their amusing idioms now resemble something printed in North Korea.

Sri Lanka has won its war against the Tamil Tigers. The hope is that its citizens can live without fear of terrorist attacks. I fear that they have paid a high price and lost something precious in the process.

Intelligence officials and security experts say Mehsud is an al Qaeda ally and their cooperation has been increasing. He has given refuge to many foreign militants, including Arabs and Central Asians, but the nature of his links with al Qaeda's leaders, believed to be hiding on the Afghan-Pakistani border, is not clear.