EDITORIAL: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s recent warning that the country’s financial stability depends on curbing militancy is an iteration of a long-acknowledged truth: Pakistan’s economic revival cannot take root amidst a relentless wave of violence draining resources, deterring investment and eroding public confidence.
In a media briefing given at the end of his trip to the US capital, the minister was at pains to point out that internal peace and political cohesion are non-negotiable prerequisites for genuine economic prosperity that travels down to the grass roots in a sustainable manner.
As media reports have noted, the Pakistani delegation that the minister was heading in the US in his meetings with the World Bank and IMF was repeatedly questioned regarding the country’s security environment, and the link between economic resilience and national security was a recurring theme in those discussions, underscoring how deeply Pakistan’s internal stability now figures into the calculus of its international partners and lenders.
The relationship between various economic indicators — investment, employment, lending and growth, among others — and a stable security environment is self-evident. Capital is inherently cautious; it gravitates towards predictability and peace. Investors, whether local or foreign, are drawn to stability, not to environments marred by conflict and uncertainty.
Without internal peace, even the most prudent economic policies and Pakistan’s renewed global relevance risk losing their meaning, as confidence — the real driver of economic growth — slowly drains away. This is especially important to recognise since there has been an alarming 46 percent rise in militancy-linked deaths this quarter, with 901 fatalities recorded from 329 incidents of violence. At this pace, 2025 is on track to surpass 2024, which was already the most violent year in a decade.
The past couple of years have seen Pakistan’s economic managers work very hard to steer the country away from the edge of financial collapse after a prolonged period of extreme fiscal precarity. This, however, still remains a very fragile recovery.
Beyond sustained structural reforms of the economy and the continued goodwill of international partners, what is urgently needed is the dismantling of the vicious cycle of violence that continues to sap national stability.
Whether it is TTP-led militancy in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa abetted by the Afghan Taliban’s lack of action against terror emanating from its borders, separatist insurgency in Balochistan stoked by Indian proxies and local grievances, or sectarian agitation and radical street power in urban centres, each of these threats must be confronted decisively.
The state can no longer afford half-measures; lasting peace and economic prosperity demand that militancy, its enablers and the radical ideology sustaining it be rooted out.
While stepped-up counter-terror operations both domestically and across the Afghan border may yield results, the state must realise that lasting stability cannot rely on force alone, as a country seen as perpetually at war will struggle to earn the confidence of investors and allies.
The ideological foundations of militancy must be undone through sustained civic education, credible counter-narratives rooted in religion, expanded economic opportunities for vulnerable communities, and granting marginalised populations a genuine political voice and institutional channels to address their grievances.
Local populations must be taken into confidence before embarking on any armed action as securing their trust and cooperation is crucial to ensuring that they see themselves as partners in restoring peace, not collateral to it. Importantly, there must also be accountability for past tolerance of extremist elements at the highest levels.
Pairing armed action with genuine political solutions and social healing can finally break this cycle. Lasting financial stability will depend on the success of this balanced approach, as genuine economic progress can take hold only in an environment of peace and internal security.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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