WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: The “Courage” Of Radical Thugs. “Contemptible and cowardly are hardly strong enough terms for the perpetrators of these acts. Bullies and thugs exist in all cultures and religions; the tragedy in Pakistan is that such people too often are praised and encouraged by fringe religious leaders.”

Make a few very public examples, and this behavior would fade out, I suspect. But who in an increasingly-barbarous country like Pakistan will do that?