Zahir Shah Sherazi
The blood in Bajaur has not yet dried, and yet the storm shows no signs of retreat. What happened last week in this restive tribal district is not a standalone tragedy it is a warning. A warning that the enemies of Pakistan, both internal and external, are regrouping, rearming, and relentlessly advancing. Their goal is no longer vague: they seek to hollow out the state from within, sowing disorder, breaking public trust, and claiming territory not just through weapons but through narratives, digital warfare, and strategic manipulation.
We have reached a critical juncture in our national security trajectory, one where indecision is no longer a policy option. The state must abandon its long-standing defensive posture and confront this menace head-on with clarity, precision, and unwavering resolve.
The recent wave of violence in Bajaur is part of a broader insurgency reigniting across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In Nawagai, the martyrdom of a young, educated officer was swiftly followed by the targeted killing of tribal elder Maulana Khan Zeb. These incidents are not isolated; they are symptoms of a deeper malaise spreading from Bajaur to Khyber, Mohmand, and North and South Waziristan. With each attack, the state’s writ is tested. With each delay in response, our enemies grow bolder.
In response, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government convened a high-level security meeting in Peshawar, led by Acting Chief Secretary Abid Wajid and attended by the Inspector General of Police, intelligence officials, and tribal leaders. It was not an ordinary gathering it was a last call for unity. The message was unambiguous: those who defy the state will be dealt with through intelligence-based operations, not reckless force, but calibrated, targeted dismantling of militant networks.
But words must translate into action. And that action must begin now.
This is not 2008. Militants no longer hide in caves they hide behind digital screens, spreading disinformation through AI-generated visuals, manipulating tribal youth via social media, and distorting reality to pit people against the state. Where once they relied solely on Kalashnikovs and IEDs, they now deploy hashtags, viral videos, and doctored images to turn perception into a weapon.
Their support base is equally evolved. From oil smugglers and narcotics traffickers to human smugglers and weapons dealers an entire black economy now finances militancy in Pakistan’s border regions. These criminals have merged with ideological militants to create a toxic ecosystem that thrives on state inaction, porous borders, and political ambiguity. The nexus is clear: when propaganda, crime, and extremism converge, the result is chaos and chaos is precisely what Pakistan’s enemies want.
Let us bury, once and for all, the myth that negotiations with terrorists yield peace. The history is damning. From the Shaqai Agreement to Swat’s infamous “peace” deal, each truce was not a compromise it was a surrender. Each agreement only gave militants time to regroup, rearm, and reassert their strength. The groups we are dealing with today—TTP, ISKP, and their splinters—do not recognize the Constitution of Pakistan. They do not seek representation; they seek domination.
Many of those who brokered these failed agreements retired officials, tribal intermediaries, and bureaucrats were well-intentioned. But they were dealing with actors who see no legitimacy in parliamentary democracy or civilian authority. These militants reject not only the state’s political structure but also its very ideological foundation. No state can allow a parallel armed order to exist within its borders. No constitution can bend for those who wield guns against their own people.
Behind the curtain of local militancy lies a sophisticated external agenda. From RAW to Mossad, and from Iran’s strategic proxies to certain Gulf actors, there is undeniable foreign interference. India, in particular, has made no secret of its intent to destabilize Pakistan from its western flank, pouring funds and resources into groups like TTP and BLA through clandestine Middle Eastern networks and operators like Kalbhushan Jadhav.
The evidence is abundant. The South Asia Terrorism Portal, a known India-linked outlet, has long fixated on Pakistan’s internal security with obsessive scrutiny. Their latest figures mirror those from CRSS and TTP’s own propaganda, pointing to a surge in attacks in 2025. This coordination in messaging between militant groups and regional adversaries cannot be coincidental.
We must also confront the uncomfortable truth that some factions within Afghanistan’s Taliban regime continue to use groups like the TTP and BLA as bargaining chips in their regional power games. Despite Islamic slogans and hollow promises, their actions betray deep coordination with anti-Pakistan networks.
Pakistan can no longer afford to remain in reaction mode. The state’s defensive strategy motivated by fear of civilian casualties, tribal sensitivities, and public backlash—has allowed the cancer of militancy to metastasize. While these concerns are legitimate, they cannot override the primary responsibility of any state: to protect its citizens and uphold its sovereignty.
Yes, kinetic operations must be precise. Yes, civilian displacement must be avoided. But let us not be paralyzed by the ghosts of past operations. The threat we face now is far more organized, externally funded, and digitally coordinated than ever before. If we fail to act decisively now, we risk losing not just territory but the confidence of our people.
Pakistan cannot fight this war alone. The threat has transnational dimensions. China, Russia, and Central Asian republics all face spillover effects from Afghan-based militants. These states must be brought into a formal regional framework for counterterrorism coordination, intelligence sharing, and joint operations.
The world must also see through the hypocrisy of regimes that harbor militants while trading with their declared enemies. The so-called Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan cannot maintain ties with both India and Pakistan’s sworn enemies while claiming to be a neutral actor. If Kabul refuses to cooperate, then Pakistan has every right under international law to act in self-defence.
This is no longer about ideology or territory. It is a war for the future of Pakistan. The lives of our civilians, the morale of our security forces, and the stability of our institutions hang in the balance.We must dismantle the infrastructure of terror both on the battlefield and online. We must sever its funding pipelines. And we must do so without apology, without hesitation, and without illusion. Because this time, the cost of delay is not just strategic it is existential.
