Akbar Ahmed is the author of Resistance and Control in Pakistan

The Pakistani province of Waziristan has been, historically a region difficult to govern. Both the British Colonial authority and the rulers of Pakistan have had to adjust their control to the dictates of tribal custom. Today, the area's tribal chiefs are suspected of providing sanctuary to major international terrorists. Akbar, who served in the territory as political agent, and has studied it as a cultural anthropologist, describes Waziristan's reality.