ABSTRACT
Pakistan’s slide into anarchy began on 27 December 1979. The Soviet Union took control of Kabul, setting in train a process that effectively merged Pakistan and Afghanistan into a single borderline state. The common bond in the merger has been violence, sustained by a menacing import of sophisticated weapons into the violent hands of civilian groups. The instruments of war were primarily non-state actors, chiselled into organised fighting machines. Thirty years later, this band of holy warriors continues to shape the first decade of the twenty-first century.
