Ayesha Khalid, Urdu VOA News, Washington "Battle for Pakistan" is based on a panel discussion held at the New America Foundation about Pakistan's current situation regarding terrorism on its soil. Panelists analyzed the different dimensions of the issue such as funding and coordination, if any, between Al-Qaeda and the local Taliban groups, however, the highlight was that more than anything else, the operation in Pakistan against extremist/militant groups is actually the battle for Pakistans own survival. Research Fellows Brian Fishman and Sameer Lalani of New America Foundation analyzed that this problem can only be solved effectively through political means while Pakistani experts Professor Hassan Abbas of Columbia University and Senior Research Fellow Imtiaz Ali of USIP stressed that the current political system can only deliver in this regard, if democracy is allowed to continue and if the law and order machinery is strengthened.