As Taliban militants gain a stronger hold in this region of Pakistan, they are imposing their view that music, singing and other such arts are un-Islamic. Several entertainers have been kidnapped or killed, while many others have fled, quit or watched their work opportunities dwindle. In the northwest’s Swat Valley, a one-time tourist haven, a female dancer was shot dead in early January after insurgents lured her out by pretending to be customers. They displayed her body in a public square, her ankle bells on her chest.—Der pakistanische Staat kämpft nach den Worten von Präsident Asif Ali Zardari um sein Überleben. Radikal-islamische Taliban-Kämpfer operierten mittlerweile nicht nur in den Stammesgebieten an der Grenze zu Afghanistan, sondern seien inzwischen auch in den großen Städte im Inland aktiv.
