Does the Taliban advance mean Pakistan is near collapse?

The news from Pakistan these days is distressing. Here are just two of the latest headline items.

"A top al Qaeda commander calls on Pakistanis to rise up against their government and prepare to fight the army and the rest of the "tyrannical state"."

"Soldiers sent to halt a Taliban advance on the Pakistani capital kill at least 14 militants and narrowly escape a wave of suicide car bombers. The fighting raises the spectre of a new ethnic conflict."

The picture from North America is blurry, primarily because we see it with the eyes of an observer. I have been fortunate to come across an article by a Pakistani student in the United States.

"I want my Pakistan Back" by Sehar Tariq is required reading for anyone who wishes to understand Pakistan's story.

Ms Tariq, who is pursuing a master's at Princeton University, writes:

"How can I be expected to return to a country where women are beaten and flogged publicly, where my daughters will not be allowed to go to school, where my sisters will die of common diseases because male doctors cannot see them?

"How can I be expected to call that country home that denies me the rights given me by my Constitution and religion? I refuse to live in a country where women like me are forced to rot behind the four walls of their homes and not allowed to use their education to benefit the nation."

There is a fierce battle raging in the Swat Valley, where a February ceasefire allowed the implementation of strict Islamic, or Shari'a, law. Pakistani forces are trying to push back Taliban fighters who have advanced on the Buner district, just a few hours drive from Islamabad.

A TIME report says, "Residents streaming from Buner, home to nearly a million people, told local newspapers that armed militants are patrolling the streets. Pakistani television stations aired footage of Taliban soldiers looting government offices and capturing vehicles belonging to aid organizations and development projects. The police, say residents, are nowhere to be seen. The shrine of a local Muslim saint, venerated across the country, was closed."

Read the TIME report "Taliban advance: Is Pakistan nearing collapse?"