OVER the past few weeks, KP has suffered from frequent terrorist attacks. The latest incident occurred in the Jamrud area on Tuesday, when a senior police officer was martyred as he confronted a suicide bomber who had taken refuge in a mosque. Last week, terrorists had attacked a police post in Peshawar’s Sarband area, while suicide bombers had also targeted Bara bazaar; numerous police personnel were martyred in the latter incident. It is suspected that members of the Jamaatul Ahrar terrorist outfit may be behind the Jamrud attack, as well as some of the other recent incidents in KP. JuA has an on-again, off-again relationship with the banned TTP; in fact, many of the terrorist groups active in the region have a diffused structure, while splinter factions are also common.

The fresh wave of terrorism confronting KP needs to be addressed to prevent further bloodletting. Far too many security personnel have fallen in the line of duty, while local residents demonstrate for peace, and demand that their areas be cleansed of violent extremists. Hundreds of tribesmen took out a peace rally in Tirah valley on Tuesday calling for an end to targeted killings and extortion in their area; they lamented the fact that militants were moving around “freely” in Khyber district. This is not the first of such gatherings; numerous others have been held in various parts of KP over the past few months, as incidents of terrorist violence have grown after a tenuous ceasefire with the banned TTP fell through.

Whether it is the TTP, JuA or similar outfits, they cannot be given any space to operate, particularly in the former tribal areas. Security operations must be stepped up so that terrorist groups cannot expand their malign activities. Where militant havens in Afghanistan are concerned — both the TTP and JuA are believed to be active in the Afghan provinces bordering Pakistan — Asif Durrani, the government’s special representative on Afghanistan, has only recently returned from Kabul after holding talks with the Taliban rulers. From what is publicly known regarding these meetings, Taliban officials have repeated the rhetoric that their soil is not being used for terrorism, though evidence strongly suggests otherwise. While it is the state’s responsibility to secure Pakistani territory, the counterterrorism effort will suffer if militants continue to have sanctuaries across the border. Therefore, the government must keep up the pressure on the Afghan Taliban to do more to contain the TTP and other terrorist groups. Kabul’s rulers depend on Pakistan to facilitate trade and for diplomatic support. The message from Islamabad should be that if terrorists continue to use Afghan soil, these ties will be affected. Additionally, there should be a continued demand from all of Afghanistan’s neighbours to shut down terrorist sanctuaries.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2023