.If anyone is thinking of merely pushing the militants into the hills the matter must be debated in earnest. The model worked for the British not because they had superior firepower but because they had succeeded in keeping the tribes isolated and the latter were content with living in poverty so long as their autonomy was respected. Conditions have changed. The tribal population is no longer isolated from or immune to external influences. Access to TV and the Internet has changed their outlook on life and austerity is no longer a virtue or an inescapable reality. Besides, the cleric who used to be subservient to the malik has supplanted him. The Pakistan establishment has already realised that clerics cannot be manipulated the way maliks were. And the tribals, at least their leaders, have had a taste of affluence. Thus, when the time for talks comes, questions as to who should the state talk to and what terms could be offered by it will become critical. It might not be enough to promise the Fata people what they enjoyed under the British. What exactly will be the status of the Malakand division? Will the territory be distinguishable from the settled districts only by Sharia courts or will it move closer to Fata? Such concessions could undermine the state������s integrity. The time to face these questions is now.