Where Pakistan is Winning.(International Edition; POINT OF VIEW)(Essay)

The military is barely holding off Islamists in some areas--but in others it has notched up a string of successes.

Pakistan is under siege. Late last month the Taliban, empowered by a peace deal struck with the government in the Swat Valley, advanced perilously close to Islamabad, where they remain, shooting it out with Pakistani troops. Some pundits have started predicting the nation's collapse, and many Pakistanis are joining the call to abandon ship. Yet the situation is not actually as dire as it seems. While the military is barely holding off the extremists in some places, in others it has recently notched up a string of surprising successes--victories that offer a way forward for the nation as a whole.

Ground zero for the turnaround is Bajaur, a northern tribal district abutting Afghanistan and, until recently, a Taliban stronghold. Last fall, the military sent Gen. Tariq Khan to take charge of operations there. It wasn't an easy job: Qaeda operatives had been operating there for years, since escaping U.S. firepower during the initial Afghan campaign. These jihadists bankrolled the Pakistani Taliban and used kangaroo courts, public beheadings and other forms of terror to extend their sway.

At first, the Pakistani military's response to the Islamists had been disastrous. Caught off guard by their onslaught, the Army had responded with brute force, trying, in the words of one officer, to "out-terrorize the terrorist." Such heavy-handed tactics had alienated locals, even while the intelligence services played a double game, trying to crack down on local Taliban while supporting them in Afghanistan so as to counter Indian influence there.

On arrival, General Khan realized he needed a new approach, one that emphasized holding and building areas after freeing them of Taliban gunmen. He began eating and bunking with his men to improve morale, and seeking the counsel of his officers--not a common practice in the hierarchical Pakistani military--on how best to engage the enemy and attract local support. In August 2008 he launched Operation Shirdil ("lion heart"), similar to the U.S. "surge" strategy in Iraq. Khan encouraged his troops to work with local tribes, shrewdly dividing pro-Taliban from pro-government elements, and, to gain legitimacy, backed tribal militias and sought the acquiescence of local jirgas (tribal councils).

I visited the region in March and spoke off the record to officers involved in Operation Shirdil then and again last week. They say the new strategy has brought Bajaur and the neighboring district of Mohmand back "under the writ of the government," setting up a "counterwave" of government victories that has ...