THE astronomical increase in terrorism in both KP and Balochistan following the Afghan Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan is extremely alarming.
Our political and military leaders have vowed to defeat terrorists and their facilitators through a unified national response.
While this is certainly a commendable sentiment, achieving this goal will be an uphill task due to several ground realities.
First, there is extreme political polarization in the country, with the PTI unwilling to fully support the state in its fight against terrorism.
Second, the terrorists enjoy active support from certain regional countries, particularly Afghanistan, which not only serves as a sanctuary and conduit for the TTP but also provides them with modern weapons left behind by NATO forces.
Moreover, the Afghan Taliban regime is also supplying trained manpower to the TTP for conducting terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
No matter how difficult this task of a unified response from all institutions and political parties may be, such a unified response is a must to overcome the existential threat which Pakistan faces today.
A massive surge in terrorist attacks in Balochistan also took place in the first quarter of 2025.
Along with militant attacks by religious terrorists like TTP and IS, Baluchistan also faces additional terrorist attacks by Baloch separatists, especially Baloch Liberation Army or BLA.
BLA has active support from India and Afghanistan.
Operational nexus has also been found between Islamic terrorist outfits and BLA.
The attack on the Jaffar Express has been one of the deadliest terrorist attacks by BLA, in which many innocent civilian and military lives were lost.
An attack of the kind targeting a train has, perhaps, not taken place before in Pakistan’s history.
In a rare move, Chief of the Army Staff Gen.
Syed Asim Munir briefed the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, emphasizing his commitment to transforming Pakistan into a hard state.
He defined a hard state as one with robust institutions capable of enforcing law, ensuring territorial control, and protecting citizens without external interference.
Stressing that no movement or individual outweighs national security, he called for harmony among all elements of national power to achieve lasting stability.
He questioned how long Pakistan could continue as a soft state while its defenders laid down their lives.
Gen.Munir urged the Ulema to counter the false narratives of extremist groups like the Khawarij and asserted that the nation’s survival must take precedence over all else.
The major parliamentary parties in the ruling coalition including PML-N and PPP fully endorsed the stance of the army chief.
The PTI leaders, unfortunately, after much dithering decided not to attend the briefing.
It was made clear in the briefing by various defence officials that India and Afghanistan were clearly behind the various terrorist attacks in both KP and Afghanistan.
In order to eradicate the existential threat of terrorism, we must admit that in the past, some important strategic and tactical mistakes have been made by both our establishment and our political parties and civilian authorities.
Our miscalculation of considering a Taliban ruled Afghanistan, as a strategic asset and initial soft pedalling on TTP in Pakistan, caused great harm to the security of our country.
Similarly, the ambiguous policy of some religious parties and the PTI significantly compromised our national defence.
During its rule in KP from 2018 to 2022, PTI engaged in talks with the TTP, violating the National Action Plan.
Thousands of armed TTP militants were allowed into KP, and many convicted leaders, including those sentenced to death, were released.
This group has since led numerous terrorist attacks.
PTI continues to oppose a strong offensive against both the TTP and the Afghan Taliban.
Meanwhile, past missteps in Balochistan have contributed to genuine grievances.
Figures like Mahrang Baloch and Akhtar Mengal might be engaged in dialogue, but only if they firmly denounce Baloch separatists responsible for the brutal killings of military personnel, security forces, and civilians.
In the current situation, the entire nation must unite behind the government and security forces to eliminate all forms of terrorism.
It should be clear that the Afghan Taliban and TTP are close collaborators.
Baloch separatists also maintain ties with Afghan and Indian intelligence.
After the Jaffar Express attack, forensic experts confirmed the use of NATO weapons by BLA terrorists—arms that could only have been supplied by the Taliban regime in Kabul.
Pakistan must adopt a firm stance toward the Afghan Taliban, demanding the expulsion of TTP members from their ranks and an end to sanctuary or support for Baloch separatists.
If, after a clear warning, the Afghan government fails to act, Pakistan would be justified in pursuing hot pursuit operations across the border to eliminate terrorist bases and hideouts.
Pakistan should also work toward establishing a regional alliance of regional countries, because they are also likely to face similar destabilizing actions from within Afghanistan.
Pakistan politicians must develop a long-term anti-terror policy with our army transforming our country into a hard state, in which there is no room for non-state violence.
It is a happy coincidence that the tenure of our Army chief ends in 2028 and that of our federal government in 2029.
This should give ample time to both the government and the Army under the current chief, to formulate and execute a hard anti – terrorist policy according to the national action plan to eradicate terrorism of all hues.
—The writer, based in Islamabad, is a former Health Minister of KP. ( marwat.akbarjan@gmail.com)
