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President Musharraf’s regime survives in spite of significant challenges. The economic boom rests on weak foundations and the gap between rich and poor is widening. Political parties are getting ready for the elections while President Musharraf will stand in uniform for another mandate. The troubled situation in parts of Balochistan is the product of decades of neglect and deprivation. The insurgents demand greater control over the natural resources of the province and greater power to determine their own affairs. The situation is explosive in Waziristan where the army has been deployed after 9/11 to stem the fl ow of Afghan Talibans and the remnants of Al-Qaida. The social fabric has been destroyed and local Talibans have brought the area under their virtual writ.Mariam Abou Zahab, teaches in the Institut d’études politiques of Paris and in the Institut national des Langues et Civilisations orientales (INALCO). Her studies analyze religios violences in Pakistan. She has published, with Olivier Roy, Réseaux islamiques. La connexion afghano-pakistanaise (Paris, Autrement, 2002).