Army-led 'war on terror' isn't working, activists say

Worshippers at the infamous Red Mosque in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, still gather in their hundreds for Friday prayers, but the fiery sermons calling for Sharia law led by hard-line cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz are now a thing of the past.

The preacher, who once led a weeklong armed conflict against Pakistan's army and has repeatedly called for the overthrow of the government, has now been muzzled by authorities - though technically he remains a free man and a revered figure among the Taliban.

It is this duality - where hardened resolve against groups such as the Taliban is blunted by a willingness to tolerate and even fan the flames of extremism still bubbling beneath society's surface - that activists say sums up the country's battle against a homegrown Islamist insurgency.