For the past 26 or 27 years, I have been covering militancy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, or KP, and one lesson has remained painfully clear: when the state allows armed alternatives to grow in the name of solving a security problem, it can end up creating another problem that is even harder to control. That is […]
Two Security Fault Lines, Armed Committees in KP and TTP’s Afghan Sanctuaries Read More »
Shamim Shahid The latest deterioration in relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan should not be dismissed as another temporary episode of border tension, diplomatic friction or isolated militant violence. The emerging picture is far more troubling. From attacks near Peshawar and continuing insecurity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to military operations in Balochistan, clashes between the Taliban and
Karzai’s Message to Pakistan: A New Chapter or Another Crisis? Read More »
Aqeel Yousafzai Pakistan’s fight against terrorism has reached a point where the greatest danger may no longer lie only in the armed groups operating across its borders and in its troubled districts. An equally serious danger is the confusion surrounding the state’s own counter-terrorism strategy: who is responsible for security, whom the state trusts, which
The most dangerous sign of institutional weakness, speaking of state affairs, is not always an attack, an explosion or a terrorist assault. Sometimes it is far quieter: the gradual emergence of actors who begin operating beyond the authority of the state, while still claiming to be working in its name. That is precisely why the
One State, One Command: Why KP Cannot Afford Parallel Security Structures Read More »
The security challenge facing Pakistan today cannot be addressed merely by increasing the number of armed personnel, creating new committees or announcing another round of talks. The more fundamental question is whether the state has a clear chain of command, the authority to enforce its decisions and the institutional discipline necessary to ensure that those
Pakistan Needs One Command at Home and Verifiable Action Across the Border Read More »
The debate over Afghanistan’s security has once again moved beyond Kabul’s borders. The presence and activities of terrorist organizations such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) have increasingly become a regional security concern, while Pakistan continues to bear a particularly heavy cost because of its geographical proximity and long, difficult
From Afghan Proxy Wars to TTP, Regional Security Still Bears the Cost Read More »
Five years after the Afghan Taliban returned to power, the central question is no longer simply whether they can retain control of Kabul. They have demonstrated that they can maintain control through a highly centralized security structure. The more consequential question is what kind of Afghanistan that control has produced, and whether the policies pursued
The TTP Question Is Testing the Taliban’s Five-Year Record in Power Read More »
Five years ago, the Taliban returned to Kabul promising that Afghanistan would enter a new era. They spoke of amnesty, reconciliation, security and a government capable of bringing stability after decades of war. Five years later, the most important question is no longer whether the Taliban can retain power. They have demonstrated that they can.
Five Years Later, Afghanistan’s Taliban Rule Faces a Crisis of Credibility Read More »
Brig (R) Mahmood Shah Five years have passed since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan on 15 August 2021, when their fighters entered Kabul and brought the previous Afghan government to an abrupt end. For the Taliban, that day remains a symbol of victory and the culmination of a decades-long armed struggle against foreign
The Taliban Won the War But Have They Won the Peace? Read More »
Mushtaq Yusufzai Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is once again confronting a security crisis that can no longer be treated as a collection of isolated incidents. From Bannu and Lakki Marwat to Tank, Dera Ismail Khan and the tribal districts of North and South Waziristan, the fear of militancy has become part of everyday life. Now, with attacks
From Bannu to Kabul: The Dangerous Game Unfolding on Pakistan’s Western Front Read More »
