You're good, he's a local Karachiite.
(Laughing)
Today, I'm meeting with the former president
to ask him about his controversial role
in the War on Terror and the early days of the TTP.
How did the event of 9/11 affect you,
and how did it affect Pakistan's role in the War on Terror?
During the operation, scores of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters
are killed, but civilians suffered as well,
helping swing public sympathy towards the militants.
ANATOL: Pakistani military is pretty indiscriminate,
even by Western standards.
So of course you had a good many civilian casualties,
which in that part of the world means revenge.
(Yelling)
The Pakistani army's continued presence in the tribal areas
and their alliance with the US enrages the Pashtun.
And that anger will soon give rise to the TTP.
(Yelling)
We arrive in the place where the group was born:
South Waziristan.
It's very, very difficult to go in.
The only people that can go in are the residents or the army.
And it was a place where the Taliban set up shop in Pakistan
in the early 2000s, and the army battled hard to get them out.
Aggressive military operations
have driven the majority of the TTP fighters north.
We're going to Janata Valley where the Pakistani Army
sends their troops out on Taliban hunting missions.
Even here, the army is still under
the constant threat of attack.
(Gunshots)
(Explosions)
The closer we get to the border with North Waziristan,
we see more and more signs of the ongoing battle
against the Taliban.
Yeah, the ridge?
Really?
If you weren't here in this area,
the Taliban would just come back I think, right?
So the threat is real?
It's serious, there's still...
The TTP has always had most of its forces here in
tribal areas, but the group ed its first real following
after an incident in the capital city, Islamabad.
(Yelling)
In 2007, a group of Islamic militants
established a stronghold at the Red Mosque, or Lal Masjid.
(Chanting)
They openly defy the state,
engage in violent demonstrations,
and set fire to nearby government property.
(Gunshots)
President Musharraf orders the army to storm the mosque.
During the 8-day siege, dozens of militants
are either killed or captured,
but women and children are also caught up in the crossfire.
(Yelling)
That really set off a wave of anger and recruitment
to the Islamist forces.
When the smoke clears, 11 soldiers, 84 militants,
and 14 civilians are dead,
and the Pakistani government controls the mosque.
But in the wake of the siege, hundreds of Pakistanis
take to the streets in support of the militants.
They consider President Musharraf a traitor.
(Yelling)
The Lal Masjid incident,
why was it necessary for you to take action against them?
You stand by the way the extremists were dealt with
in that mosque?
You think it was the best way to handle it?
The formation of the TTP,
did it not come as a response to the Lal Masjid incident?
But regardless of his successes, Musharraf's actions
set the stage for Pakistan's violent years to come.