The attack in Swat on a school van in which the driver was killed and a female child injured is an alarming development—portending something very gruesome for which not only the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province but Pakistan as a whole is not prepared, considering the prevailing political instability and the economic chaos. The attack came in following a series of violent terror attacks in the region. Due to these recent developments, the people of Swat are fearful about the return of terrorism. These fears are shared by the people from other districts in KP as well. Therefore, the concern is to ensure that terrorist attacks do not replicate and that this new wave of terrorism does not intensify.
The recent peace talks between Pakistan and TTP were initiated after an announcement of ceasefire by the TTP with Pakistan's government on May 29 2022. However, prior to this announcement, secret meetings between the terror outfit and Pakistan had taken place.
Moreover, the recent peace talks with the TTP, created quite a commotion in the parliament as they were conducted without taking the parliament into confidence.
The Pakistani Taliban have been given several chances in the past beginning with the Shakai accord in 2004, Sararogha accord in 2005, Waziristan accord in 2006, and the Nizam-e-Adl agreement in 2009, but no agreement lasted long. Experts also argue that even if the government signs a peace accord with the banned TTP, it will provide only a temporary or partial respite to the security institutions without offering a guarantee for a long-lasting peace. Even before the launch of the military operation in North Waziristan in 2014, the government had been advocating for talks with the TTP.
After some lethal attacks by the terrorists against law enforcement agencies, political leaders, polio vaccination teams, media persons, Shia pilgrims, and foreign tourists, the then prime minister of Pakistan, Mian Nawaz Sharif had held a high-level meeting on January 23 2014, and issued a statement that hinted at the use of force against the militants. However, in his address to the National Assembly on January 29, he said the government wanted to give peace another chance. However, nor the appeasement and nor the warnings worked, and finally the state decided to launch the military operation against the terrorists.
The first of the many military operations conducted by Pakistan's military against the TTP was operation Al Mizan, which started in the year 2002 and ended in 2006. This military operation was followed by operation Zalzala in 2008. The conflict didn't stop here, but further dragged on and the Pakistani military launched operation Sher Dil, operation Rah-e-Haq, and operation Rah-e-Raast against the TTP menace between 2007 and 2009.
Following these operations, Pakistan army launched another operation—operation Rah-e-Nijat— against the outlawed group, starting in 2009 which ended in 2010. As the attacks by the TTP stretched across the country, and before the situation could go out of control, the Pakistani military launched operation Zarb-e-Azb against the TTP on June 15 2014. This operation has been termed as the largest Counter terrorism Operation in contemporary times. The last major military operation conducted by the Pakistani military against the TTP was operation Radd-ul-Fassad. It was launched on 22nd February 2017, and aimed for the complete eradication of militants from Pakistan.
According to figures derived from the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies’ digital database on conflict and security, the TTP alone, while not including its breakaway factions and affiliated local groups, has carried out 3,280 terrorist attacks in Pakistan since its establishment in 2007 – including 301 suicide bombings – which have claimed 7,488 lives and wounded 15,086 others.
Notwithstanding all the prior softer and harder and the recent softer efforts made by Pakistan to establish peace with the militants, the resurgence of terrorism in KP has sent a message to the power that be that the peace overtures made to a terror outfit would only result in disappointment and embarrassment for the state of Pakistan. This puts Pakistan in a weaker position, where the terrorist group can misunderstand Pakistan’s softer approaches and underestimates its counterterrorism capabilities and, thus emboldened, launch a deadly terror campaign countrywide with the other militant outfits inspired and joining it. This underestimation and misunderstanding might have led to the resurgence of terrorism in KP that we are witnessing now.
Interestingly, the terrorist attacks preceding the school van attack in Swat were followed by massive protests from the people of Swat demanding that the state should act immediately against the peace-destroying elements. The school vehicle attack, moreover, succeeded in triggering a historic protest in Swat with fierce social media condemnation pouring in.
In addition to the resurgence of terrorism in Swat, the province’s other districts are also witnessing spike in terrorist activities with each passing day. Protests have erupted in other areas as well against the terrorist violence. Moreover, the provincial and federal ministers who were negligent to the rise in violence and who used to rubbish such developments as panic-mongering and rumours have come to realize the gravity of the issue, with the interior minister issuing warning of a terrorist threat facing the country.
However, unlike before, what is reassuring this time is the coming out of people in massive numbers against the rise in militancy, which is a telling sign that terrorists will have a hard time in establishing their foothold this time. The people of Swat have sent a clear and stern message that they would never allow the terrorist groups to destroy the peace in the region established with so many lives sacrificed.
Sadly, the political leaders in the country who could have put their differences aside and taken a combined stand against the rise in militancy, started blaming one another for it, with the chairman PTI Imran Khan holding Sharif government responsible for the worsening of situation in Swat. This kind of attitude is detrimental to the peace and stability in the region.
Conclusively, the gaining of ground by the terrorists would put many things at risk. To ward off this danger of growing terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, state’s alliance with the people would prove significant. The delay in state's response would provide the militants the much-desired time to regroup and grow strong. In the event of the terrorists strengthening their base in the region, horrors will return and the hard-won peace would be ruined with fatal consequences for all.
The recent peace talks between Pakistan and TTP were initiated after an announcement of ceasefire by the TTP with Pakistan's government on May 29 2022. However, prior to this announcement, secret meetings between the terror outfit and Pakistan had taken place.
Moreover, the recent peace talks with the TTP, created quite a commotion in the parliament as they were conducted without taking the parliament into confidence.
The Pakistani Taliban have been given several chances in the past beginning with the Shakai accord in 2004, Sararogha accord in 2005, Waziristan accord in 2006, and the Nizam-e-Adl agreement in 2009, but no agreement lasted long. Experts also argue that even if the government signs a peace accord with the banned TTP, it will provide only a temporary or partial respite to the security institutions without offering a guarantee for a long-lasting peace. Even before the launch of the military operation in North Waziristan in 2014, the government had been advocating for talks with the TTP.
After some lethal attacks by the terrorists against law enforcement agencies, political leaders, polio vaccination teams, media persons, Shia pilgrims, and foreign tourists, the then prime minister of Pakistan, Mian Nawaz Sharif had held a high-level meeting on January 23 2014, and issued a statement that hinted at the use of force against the militants. However, in his address to the National Assembly on January 29, he said the government wanted to give peace another chance. However, nor the appeasement and nor the warnings worked, and finally the state decided to launch the military operation against the terrorists.
The first of the many military operations conducted by Pakistan's military against the TTP was operation Al Mizan, which started in the year 2002 and ended in 2006. This military operation was followed by operation Zalzala in 2008. The conflict didn't stop here, but further dragged on and the Pakistani military launched operation Sher Dil, operation Rah-e-Haq, and operation Rah-e-Raast against the TTP menace between 2007 and 2009.
Following these operations, Pakistan army launched another operation—operation Rah-e-Nijat— against the outlawed group, starting in 2009 which ended in 2010. As the attacks by the TTP stretched across the country, and before the situation could go out of control, the Pakistani military launched operation Zarb-e-Azb against the TTP on June 15 2014. This operation has been termed as the largest Counter terrorism Operation in contemporary times. The last major military operation conducted by the Pakistani military against the TTP was operation Radd-ul-Fassad. It was launched on 22nd February 2017, and aimed for the complete eradication of militants from Pakistan.
According to figures derived from the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies’ digital database on conflict and security, the TTP alone, while not including its breakaway factions and affiliated local groups, has carried out 3,280 terrorist attacks in Pakistan since its establishment in 2007 – including 301 suicide bombings – which have claimed 7,488 lives and wounded 15,086 others.
Notwithstanding all the prior softer and harder and the recent softer efforts made by Pakistan to establish peace with the militants, the resurgence of terrorism in KP has sent a message to the power that be that the peace overtures made to a terror outfit would only result in disappointment and embarrassment for the state of Pakistan. This puts Pakistan in a weaker position, where the terrorist group can misunderstand Pakistan’s softer approaches and underestimates its counterterrorism capabilities and, thus emboldened, launch a deadly terror campaign countrywide with the other militant outfits inspired and joining it. This underestimation and misunderstanding might have led to the resurgence of terrorism in KP that we are witnessing now.
Interestingly, the terrorist attacks preceding the school van attack in Swat were followed by massive protests from the people of Swat demanding that the state should act immediately against the peace-destroying elements. The school vehicle attack, moreover, succeeded in triggering a historic protest in Swat with fierce social media condemnation pouring in.
In addition to the resurgence of terrorism in Swat, the province’s other districts are also witnessing spike in terrorist activities with each passing day. Protests have erupted in other areas as well against the terrorist violence. Moreover, the provincial and federal ministers who were negligent to the rise in violence and who used to rubbish such developments as panic-mongering and rumours have come to realize the gravity of the issue, with the interior minister issuing warning of a terrorist threat facing the country.
However, unlike before, what is reassuring this time is the coming out of people in massive numbers against the rise in militancy, which is a telling sign that terrorists will have a hard time in establishing their foothold this time. The people of Swat have sent a clear and stern message that they would never allow the terrorist groups to destroy the peace in the region established with so many lives sacrificed.
Sadly, the political leaders in the country who could have put their differences aside and taken a combined stand against the rise in militancy, started blaming one another for it, with the chairman PTI Imran Khan holding Sharif government responsible for the worsening of situation in Swat. This kind of attitude is detrimental to the peace and stability in the region.
Conclusively, the gaining of ground by the terrorists would put many things at risk. To ward off this danger of growing terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, state’s alliance with the people would prove significant. The delay in state's response would provide the militants the much-desired time to regroup and grow strong. In the event of the terrorists strengthening their base in the region, horrors will return and the hard-won peace would be ruined with fatal consequences for all.