Tribals are fighting for Taliban = YES.
Taliban are killing Pakistanis = Only because it is a corollary of their struggle in Afghanistan.
Pakistan doesn't need to be the US' ally nor the Taliban. We have the option of staying out of this, which we are not exercising for various reasons (mostly, in order to have some say in regional matters post US withdrawal).
For the Taliban it is very easy to keep Pakistan engaged with India, which will provide them breathing space in their own theater. All they have to do is manufacture a strike inside India through one of their many proxies (LeT, LeJ etc). Even a small time attack in India is enough to divert the ENTIRE attention of the Pakistan Armed Forces (including Air Force and Navy) towards India. It is something that is neither in the interests of Pakistan nor America. But, whenever the push has come to shove, AQ/TTP have pulled off strikes inside India and given themselves the breathing space.
This is why Pakistan is in a quagmire. They CANNOT (and I stress this) win this war against the Taliban. The most they can get out of it is a ZERO SUM or stalemate. The worst case for scenario for Pakistan is what is becoming more likely as this war keeps stretching. Here is a little flavor of what his "worst case" will look like:
1- The US withdraws completely out of Afghanistan in which even they would have to accept Taliban as the major stakeholders in Afghanistan.
2- The Taliban is freed up - and has American support - to then turn its complete focus towards Pakistan, which will make TTP an even bigger threat than it is now.
3- Pakistan can very easily find itself in the real situation where it might be in the interest of Taliban and India (and of course America) to choke Pakistan to neutralize Chinese influence.
4- If Pakistan continues hostility with Taliban post US withdrawal then the Taliban will be more than happy to host anti-Pakistan elements such as BLA et al.
So, my friend, Pakistan hasn't seen ANYTHING yet. The sh1t has yet to hit the fan and if Pakistan continues on this suicidal path then regional powers (and China will also consider this option) dump Pakistan altogether. There is only so much effort China will be willing to invest in helping Pakistan out of its mess. China (unlike Russia) will prefer dumping Pakistan and forging new relationships with Balochistan and KPK in the event of Balkanization in order to secure its energy route.
Finally, most of your liberal folks shouldn't hold your breaths for too long. Give it another year or 2 and see how Pakistan army will 'transform' itself into Mullahs.
The way I see things is that The US and Pakistan move into an alliance. The FATA dudes are harboring terrorists. As an Ally of the US, it is only natural for Pakistan to reign in on its own border to "help" its ally. The FATA guys allegiance was questionable to begin with. And now with the open declaration of TTP reigning war on all Pakistanis, its even more necessary to push it. Who pushed the buttons first is anybody's bet. However we are now fully engaged in this war. Besides this I think there was a genuine need to get more troops not just in FATA but the whole of NWFP aka KPK. Law and Order were out of control. The Taliban were already showing interference within KPK, cable TV, Banks, Commercial establishments, Schools, etc.
So I gather you are saying the Tribals are fighting "For" the Taliban? And the Taliban are killing Pakistanis.
