After the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the incidents of targeted killing have once again increased in districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province stretching along the Afghan border. The districts, then known as agencies, were administered by the federal government before their merger into the KP province.
The Afghan Taliban leadership has assured the global community that they will not allow the soil of Afghanistan to be used against any country. However, the concerns for Pakistan increased after the Afghan Taliban released former deputy chief of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Molvi Abdul Faqeer, and other militants from Bagram prison. These insurgents had fought against the Pakistani military forces for several years since 2008.
Pakistan has fenced its 2,640 kilometers-long border with Afghanistan to counter terrorism and prevent target killings across the border, but the country still faces a militant threat from across the Afghan border.
‘In most cases, the victims of target killings were those nationalists who dared to raise voice against lawlessness in their areas and advocated peace in the militancy-hit region’
Islamabad-based senior Journalist Gohar Mehsud, who hails from South Waziristan, a former stronghold of the TTP, said target killing incidents had escalated in the newly-formed tribal districts, which had puts a question mark on the security forces’ performance. “In most cases, the victims of target killings were those nationalists who dared to raise voice against lawlessness in their areas and advocated peace in the militancy-hit region,” he said.
He said that the local media was unable to report on the situation due to severe threats to their lives. “After the successful operation Zarb-e-Azb against militants in 2014, the incidents of target killing in former FATA had notably declined,” Mehsud added.
On the recent wave of target killings, he said that the spike in these incidents could be the result of loopholes in security arrangements.
Another observer, who sought anonymity, said that it was responsibility of the state to punish perpetrators of target killings. He said that the state had all resources to purge the country of the militants and target killers.
“Target killings happen in North Waziristan on daily bases, but such incidents are not reported or highlighted in media due to the threat to the lives of journalists. However, the South Waziristan district is safe in this regard,” he said.
The murder of the Youth President of North Waziristan Noor Islam Dewar was also an incident of target killing. There is no official data available on the incidents of target killings in erstwhile FATA
Recently, the murder of the Youth President of North Waziristan Noor Islam Dewar was also an incident of target killing. Meanwhile, there is no official data available on the incidents of target killings in erstwhile FATA.
Pakistan has faced internal and external challenges during the past two decades, including the target killings, which shows poor performance of the security forces.
Recently, when the Taliban swept into Kabul, Pakistani military and civil leadership emphasized that the Taliban will not let anyone use their soil against its any country. Still, the banned TTP men launched a cross-border attack in Bajaur District in which heavy gunfire was exchanged between the insurgent militants and Pakistani forces.
Pakistan has fought the War On Terror for two decades, especially in former FATA and has played a key role in global efforts against terrorism and target killings, and has pushed back militants from the border areas.
