>Pakistan in the Middle East
I've never seen a map say that. Usually its bundled with the rest of the Indian Subcontinent.
Anyway, you'll get different answers from different people but the basics are:
>Sects
Iran is Shi'a, and the other Islamic countries are Sunni.
>Iraq
Haven't heard anything about them in ages. According to Wikipedia they've got some sectarian issues.
>Afghanistan
Its a country where everything is rural outside the capital, and its full of mountains. Its the perfect place to hide if you're a terrorist. That's why the organizations hide there, and why the us is deployed there to beat them. The US isn't done there, and thanks to how favourable the terrain is they might never be able to win. The country is notorious for bogging down armies.
>Pakistan
Allied with the US, so the US never started with them in the first place. Every second leader is a military dictator but the dictators are usually pro-US so its OK apparently. The Pakistan-Afghanistan border is barely there and runs through towns, so it shouldn't be too hard for someone determined to get across. Also Pakistan has nukes, but they're very careful on how they store them.
As for good guys and bad guys it depends on too many things, so I'll leave that one. The civilians just want to be left alone, but end up getting hit with terrorist attacks and occasionally drone strikes. There are different groups pushing their agendas, with their own reasons. The US is pretty much stuck, and the other governments pay lip service.