Even Where Pakistani Law Exists, Taliban Find a Porous Border.

The thick brown sack that a man named Abdulmalek carried over his shoulder on a recent afternoon might have contained anything: weapons, drugs or explosives. But crossing back and forth between Afghanistan and Pakistan was no problem, he said. Afghan border guards never search him, even though he passes through this bustling crossing four or five times a week. ''What searching?'' said Mr. Abdulmalek, a 34-year-old clothing store owner who like many Afghans has only one name. ''There is no searching.'' [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]