THE threat that violent armed groups pose to Pakistan’s security and stability cannot be understated. Month after month, troubling figures emerge that reinforce this grim reality. For example, the numbers collated for November by PIPS, an Islamabad-based think tank, do not offer a reassuring picture.

The data says that there were 61 terrorist attacks nationwide last month, resulting in the loss of at least 169 lives, and injuries to over 200 individuals. In keeping with the ongoing trend, KP and Balochistan witnessed the highest number of militant attacks. Both Baloch separatist outfits and religiously inspired groups, including the banned TTP, have played a central role in the bloodshed. Yet despite clear proof of the threat that malign armed actors pose to national security, the military and civilian leadership prefers to focus its energies on political opponents, namely the PTI, conflating the party’s activities with terrorism.

Lately, there have been hardly disguised, back-to-back statements equating the PTI’s social media activities and protests with terrorism and subterfuge. For example, on Thursday the ISPR issued a statement at the end of the formation commanders’ conference mentioning “malicious propaganda” in the aftermath of the military’s deployment in the capital to thwart the PTI’s march on D-Chowk. The military said this online activity was supported by “external players”. The statement also called for “those spreading fake news … to be … brought to justice”.

Meanwhile, the civilian component of the state is giving off similar vibes. Briefing a Senate committee, the state minister for IT confirmed that cybercrime laws were being tweaked to handle “misinformation”, while earlier the interior minister, speaking from the platform of NAP’s coordination committee, also said that social media used by banned terrorist groups would be curbed. This missive was widely seen as directed at the PTI’s social media activities.

While fake news has become a major issue that needs to be tackled wisely, and the PTI’s confrontational politics — and often inflammatory social media content — can be problematic, the state is missing the forest for the trees. The ruling party’s — and the establishment’s — disagreements with the PTI are political, and need to be resolved through political means, while terrorist groups pose an existential threat to the nation.

It is unwise, therefore, to link the PTI to militant groups. Both the civilian and uniformed leaderships need to focus all their efforts on countering the terrorist threat. This year alone hundreds of civilians and security personnel have been martyred by terrorists. The state’s focus must be on stopping militants based in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan from entering the country, while also dealing with the terrorist threat within. The effort to brand the PTI or other critics of the state as ‘terrorists’ will only divert attention from the real threat.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2024