In the latest sign of the hardline movement's rapprochement with at least some areas of the modern world, the Taliban have embraced microblogging. Their Twitter feed, @alemarahweb, pumps out several messages a day, keeping followers up to date with often highly exaggerated reports of strikes.

While international attention is captivated by the high profile victory in Abbottabad, such a focus threatens to divert our focus from the underlying factors that have pushed Pakistan to the front lines of the "war on terrorism".

Over the past ten years since 9/11, event after event in and outside Afghanistan has overshadowed the need to connect with the Afghan people and to deliver on their basic expectations for peace, justice, and prosperity. Even though NATO member-states increasingly appreciate the importance of public diplomacy at home and abroad, they have largely faltered to engage and listen to the Afghan people on how to secure Afghanistan.

That manual has become the guide for counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. It emphasizes that military power alone can’t succeed against an insurgency, and the importance of public diplomacy as part of a “comprehensive strategy employing all instruments of national power.”

Pakistani Parliamentary delegation has urged NATO to revisit their policies towards Afghanistan and should hold dialogue with all factions of Taliban to achieve lasting peace. According to NATO spokesman Pakistani delegation met with high level NATO officials from the public diplomacy, political affairs and security policy.

Experts in Afghanistan say a softer line the Taliban is taking on issues like education and reconstruction projects is a tactical ploy to win broader popular support. A Taliban leader was recently quoted by Afghan media outlets as saying the movement was not opposed to education and would protect schools in areas they controlled.