Loose Talk of Just War

John Braithwaite

I congratulate the criminological community of Pakistan on establishing the Pakistan Journal of Criminology. I have been impressed by the early issues and commend the editor in this issue for tackling the difficult and critical issue of terrorism. I loved my visit to Pakistan seven years ago and was impressed by the spirit of the people and the sophistication of the Pakistan debate on connecting ancient traditions of dispute resolution in Pakistan to modern traditions of rightsbased restorative justice that include the empowerment of women. The quality and
openness of that dialogue, including with those who were strong supporters of Sharia law as the only state law, in that Peshawar conference on restorative justice and peace building, left me with a strong affection for the people of Pakistan. My travels into the tribal territories of the Northwest Frontier Province in 2003 with the police and military also gave me respect for those I met in the difficult situation they were dealing with since the invasion of Afghanistan.