Nonviolent group dares to take on Pakistan's military

ISLAMABAD - Many Pakistanis were stunned this year when a charismatic young ethnic Pashtun from the country's tribal region - long the focus of counterterrorism operations - drew tens of thousands into the streets in a direct challenge to army generals.

"This terrorism that you see, the uniform is behind it," they chanted.

It was a rare expression inside Pakistan of the view - widely held outside its borders - that the security establishment sponsors militant groups such as the Taliban, whose presence in the tribal belt has long been a pretext for crackdowns against Pashtuns.

Now Pakistan's most significant popular uprising in years faces a reckoning after an election