The escalating terror threat

EDITORIAL: If there was any doubt about the fast deteriorating security situation Pakistan faced during the year that has just passed, it was laid to rest with the release of the annual security report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies. According to the report, 2023 saw 1,524 violence-related fatalities from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations, including nearly 1,000 fatalities among civilians and security forces personnel, with the overall number of casualties marking a very disturbing six-year high.

A province-wide breakdown tells us that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan faced the brunt of the terror upsurge, making up more than 90 percent of all casualties and 84 percent of attacks.

Another unsettling detail that emerged is that only 17 percent of terror attacks were claimed by banned militant groups, including the TTP, BLA and Islamic State Khorasan, among others. This means that other less prominent terror outfits have also started to make their presence felt, making the job of the security forces a complex one. Further complicating matters is the rise in sectarian violence, with attacks targeting religious communities, causing a significant loss of life.

That Pakistan is witnessing levels of violence not witnessed since the dark days of the late 2000s and early-to-mid 2010s casts serious doubts over the approach employed to combat terror by our policymakers and successive governments in recent years. The belief amongst some that the Afghan Taliban could be relied upon to keep the TTP threat under check has proven to be a highly misplaced one.

Another policy approach that lies in tatters is the importance given to negotiating with the TTP. A strategy that effectively amounted to appeasing those who did not accept Pakistan’s Constitution and also had the blood of innocent Pakistani lives on their hands only gave the TTP the opportunity to regroup and revitalise their operations.

In the aftermath of this increased terror threat, apart from conducting counter-terror operations with increasing frequency, Pakistan has now also rightly become more vociferous on the diplomatic front, demanding that the interim Afghan government play its role in curbing terror emanating from its borders, and has also highlighted the role played by India in propping up the TTP.

While this is welcome, a lot more remains to be done. The fact remains that the ultimate responsibility to secure our borders lies with us so while it is important to keep the international community abreast of what is going on with respect to our security situation and calling on the Afghan government to tackle the TTP threat, it is our own actions that will eventually determine what course the fight against terror takes.

A picture has emerged of most terror attacks being concentrated in particular geographic areas of K-P and Balochistan. There is a clear need for more targeted military action in these areas, as well as a need to ensure that the terror threat does not become a more widespread one, spilling into other provinces.

What is also needed is the revival of the now almost defunct National Action Plan that was established in the wake of the tragic 2014 APS Peshawar attack. While the points in the plan pertaining to military action against terror outfits bore fruit in the years following the APS attack, the parts relating to cracking down on hate speech and extremist ideology have not proved to be as effective.

We must remember that the war against terror isn’t one that can only be confined to and won on the battlefield. What is also needed is the upending of the murderous ideology that keeps this threat alive. For a long-lasting solution to this menace, the deradicalisation of our social spaces through education reforms, community engagement and international cooperation is needed. This could in turn promote tolerance, foster economic development and address underlying grievances that contribute to the appeal of extremist ideologies.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024