The work posits that the government of Pakistan seriously needs to rethink and reform its strategy for dealing with extremists in view of a case discussed. The article analyzes the ongoing conflict situation between the government of Pakistan and the tribal population groups residing in the tribal belt along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in light of Pakistan’s assistance to the United States in its “War on Terror.” It further attempts to apply some simple game theoretic models to the situation in Waziristan and tries to accommodate the influence of the third party (the United States in this case) on the strategies as well as on the Nash equilibrium of the players in this situation of conflict. The aim of this exercise was to capture and highlight policy insights that might emerge from this strategic analysis. The possible Nash equilibrium depicts that the presence of the third party in the said conflict complicates the situation in an adverse manner. Moreover, the rebels might find it profitable to rebel and retaliate against the government in the subsequent periods due to the grievances caused by the actions of government in the first period. The article focuses on the political problems being faced by the government of Pakistan while it supports the United States and its allies in their mission to combat and weaken the al Qaeda and Taliban forces. Tables, references, notes