The highway to Peshawar, capital of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), is almost empty. Peshawar is the gateway to the tribal areas where militant Islamists are based, some along the border with Afghanistan, and some who are now spreading out to more settled areas. But no one is rushing there from Islamabad; in the 15 months since I was last here the city has had periods when there was speculation it might fall to Islamists who were conducting a spate of assasinations and suicide bombings.

During my stay I meet with several people who had close calls. Latif Afridi, head of the bar association points out a metal gate screening of his driveway, now repated, but once penetrated by 72 bullets. The U.S. consul general Lynne Tracey survived only because her bullet proof car stopped a hail of bullets last year.