By Pir Zubair Shah & Jane Perlez
The seizure of the quarry is a measure of how in recent months, as the Pakistani military has pulled back under a series of peace deals, the Pakistani Taliban have extended their reach through more of the rugged territory in northern Pakistan known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, or FATA. Today the Taliban not only settle disputes in their consolidated domain but they also levy taxes, smuggle drugs and other contraband, and impose their own brand of rough justice, complete with courts and prisons. From the security of this border region, they deploy their fighters and suicide bombers in two directions: against Nato and American forces over the border in southern Afghanistan, and against Pakistani forces — police, army and intelligence officials — in
major Pakistani cities.
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