AS Pakistan’s battle against militancy persists, a heavy toll is being extracted as the country continues to lose a large number of security men in confrontations with terrorists. Frequent terrorist attacks also raise the question of the use of foreign soil — specifically Afghan territory — by anti-Pakistan militants.

Eleven personnel, including two officers, were martyred in KP’s Orakzai tribal district earlier this week as they battled TTP terrorists during an intelligence-based operation. Meanwhile, ISPR said on Thursday that a major was martyred during a counterterrorism operation in Dera Ismail Khan, while officials confirmed a policeman was martyred when TTP militants attacked a checkpoint in a separate incident in D.I. Khan.

Taking note of the uptick in violence, the corps commanders’ conference on Wednesday pledged to continue CT operations “across all domains” in order to crush the banned TTP and Baloch separatist insurgencies. Moreover, the country’s top generals highlighted a “nexus between terror and crime with vested political patronage”, while vowing to dismantle it.

There needs to be further clarification of this nexus. In the past, for example, there was evidence of political parties having militant wings in Karachi. Is this what is being referred to, or has a fresh threat emerged?

With regard to the high losses amongst security men, there is an urgent need to address this issue, as the country cannot afford to lose so many personnel in terrorist attacks. Most troop losses are reported during IBOs. Perhaps there is a need to change tactics, in order to stay ahead of terrorist groups.

Concerning the use of Afghan soil by militant groups, the issue recently came up during discussions between regional states at the Moscow Format Consultations. Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan reiterated at the moot the need to “dismantle all terrorist groups operation from Afghanistan”. The joint statement issued by the participating countries, which included Afghanistan, Russia, China and Iran, among others, similarly reminded Kabul that terrorism in the country “constitutes a serious threat to … Afghanistan, the region and the wider world”.

Therefore, along with shoring up defences at home, Pakistan needs to work with partners in the region to ensure that the message is clearly communicated to the Afghan Taliban regime: regional integration and hosting bloodthirsty terrorist groups cannot go hand in hand.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2025