The first six months of 2022 witnessed a surge in terror attacks and a report presented to the upper house of Parliament shows that around 434 attacks have been carried out by terrorists against Pakistan’s security forces — 323 soldiers have embraced martyrdom while 718 soldiers and officers have been injured. The report further indicates that the highest number of attacks occurred in K-P, followed by Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab respectively.
This comes amid the backdrop of a Pakistani delegation’s trip to Afghanistan. While the visit was taken as a positive sign from all sides, hopes of paving a peaceful path forward dwindled as TTP leaders refused to budge on their demands. With the economy on stretchers, authorities in Pakistan are faced with the arduous challenge of somehow finding a middle ground while political uncertainty brews in its own backyard.
Such undertakings, of fighting and resisting against extremist elements within or outside Pakistani soil, take a heavy toll on the coffers and these leaks must plugged at the earliest through continuous and timely peace efforts. If history be any guide, scuffles and expeditions betoken more of the same, nothing else. It would be in the best interest of the region if Pakistan pushes Kabul to actively, not passively, mediate the matter, just as Pakistan did during the US’s withdrawal.
TTP too must realise that radical demands are of little important when the greater threat of uncertainty looms large and both countries stand at the precipice of collapse. Terror attacks by outlawed groups and reactionary responses by the military will only cause more bleeding at a time when concerted efforts are required to strengthen the region amid a fluctuating global order. The realisation that much more is at stake needs to prevail.