Libya and Pakistan

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Owen Bennett Jones introduces personal stories, wit and analysis from correspondents abroad. In this edition, Alan Little in Tripoli says that Libyan Islamists seem to have changed their views on a whole range of subjects, while Mohammed Hanif enjoys the new peacefulness of Karachi's Frere Hall Park after the United States consulate moves out. The men who came in from the heat The shape of Libya's political landscape after Gaddafi is still to be decided. In this moment of optimism and openness, it seems there's everything to play for. For decades, Western policy towards the Middle East was based in part on fear of Islamists coming to power. Better authoritarian regimes, the thinking went, than Islamist ones. But all that is changing - on both sides. Of course the Arab Spring is still young and its future uncertain, but so far the Islamists have played a relatively modest role. And, as Allan Little has been finding out in Libya, they also appear to be changing tack, and rethinking their stance on a range of issues. An afternoon in Frere Hall Park The American consulate in Karachi has sparked fierce debate for years - and not only because of its decisions about visa applications. The very real threats to the Americans and Pakistanis working there have led to ever tighter security measures, which in turn meant armed checkpoints, snarled-up traffic and all too often an air of menace. Mohammed Hanif explains why Karachiites are now feeling a great sense of relief - and enjoying a new urban space - after the Consulate's move to new premises.