Interestingly the Pakistani government’s policy reversal and decision to stop playing good terroris bad terrorist seems to have been something Gen.Rasheed promised during his visit - he did expect a slower progress towards that but the Peshawar attack became the moment to just do it. Those poor children might have saved thousands.
Some officials in Washington and Kabul say that Pakistan has shifted its calculus under army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif, who took office a year ago and in June began an operation against militants in the North Waziristan tribal area, which borders Afghanistan and was previously a sanctuary for Pakistani, Afghan and al Qaeda jihadists. Gen. Sharif—who isn’t related to the prime minister—visited the U.S. for two weeks last month for talks with military officials.
During the trip, Gen. Sharif made a commitment to not distinguish among extremists, said a senior official in the Obama administration.