NBC News is planning a series of reports about Pakistan, specifically North Waziristan, the place where the Taliban is believed to be based, and where the U.S. launches more drone strikes than anywhere else. “Inside Pakistan” will kick off Monday March 4 on “Today,” with more installments on other NBC News programs and outlets throughout the week.
Correspondent and Islamabad bureau chief Amna Nawaz traveled to Waziristan for the series, the first foreign journalist granted permission by Pakistan’s government to do so. Some of her reports apparently focus on the Pakistani military’s efforts to build roads and schools in the isolated region.
Waziristan is in some respects a “last frontier” for foreign journalists. Reports from inside hotspots like Syria and Iran have been ever-present over the last few years, and even North Korea occasionally allows foreign journalists inside. Waziristan, however, which is at the heart of the U.S. drone program, has remained off the radar of U.S. outlets, due to its instability dangerous terrain and the general reluctance of Pakistan’s government to allow outsiders in.