The AP reports that Pakistan’s collapsing government, fresh from forcing Musharraf out, has now banned the Taliban in the wake of the latter’s bombings of Pakistani military bases.
What the AP report fails to mention is that Pakistan is primarily responsible for creating the Taliban. That prominently includes the late Benazir Bhutto — purported democracy icon and staunch enemy of Islamic radicalism — whose government provided key support. This comprehensive 2002 essay by Michael Rubin (especially the section toward the end on “Pakistani Support for the Taliban”) tells much of the story.