For ages, Pakistan and Afghanistan have been hotbeds of ethnic, religious and political tensions. Pakistan has fought wars with India and, through Afghanistan, with the Soviet Union. Pakistan's northern territories, far removed from the seat of government in the south, are home to the Taliban and al-Qaida.

When U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, tensions between the United States and Pakistan grew increasingly strained. Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid, who has written for the Washington Post, the Daily Telegraph and other publications, says he fears that his country "is on the brink of a meltdown."

In his fifth book, Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of America, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, Rashid, who lives in Pakistan, offers his ideas for averting disaster and rebuilding crisis-steeped relationships. 

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