Today in the Swat Valley within 100 miles of the Pakistani capital city of Islamabad, at least 41 people were killed. The incident came as the Taliban claimed responsibility for a separate weekend attack on a Pakistani army facility that killed dozens more. Should the United States send even more money to Pakistan to try to quell the violence there?

Residents of Pakistan's Swat Valley are readjusting to life after the end of Taliban rule. Under Taliban rule, barbers were banned from shaving off beards. A Worldfocus contributing blogger writes that even now, having a beard is not a matter of choice.

Pakistan’s military offensive against Taliban militants in the Swat Valley is nearly over, according to the country’s defense minister. However, the offensive has had enormous humanitarian costs, with more than 2 million people displaced as a result of conflict this year. A Worldfocus contributing blogger in Pakistan writes about the growing refugee crisis.

Pakistan's armed forces are engaged in a widening offensive against Taliban militants in the northwest part of the country. Jeff Stein of Congressional Quarterly discusses the ethnic dimension of Pakistan's conflict and the security of the country's nuclear weapons.

At an international donors conference in Tokyo, the United States and Japan each pledged $1 billion in aid to Pakistan over the next two years. Ahmed Rashid, a leading Pakistani journalist, discusses the deteriorating economic and political situations in Pakistan.