The year 2026 marked a troubling period for Pakistan’s internal security, with a surge in violence underscoring persistent security challenges. With global conflict monitors indicating an alarming rise in attacks and fatalities, the progress Pakistan once made in counter-terrorism appears to be unraveling.
Afghanistan Factor and the Changing Security Landscape
Undoubtedly, the Afghan Taliban is considered the region’s major sanctuary and operational center for the Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP*). The return of the Taliban government to Kabul in August 2021 has emboldened regional militant networks and disturbed the regional security landscape, as it provided them an opportunity to establish sanctuaries in Afghanistan. It also tarnished the socio-economic fabric of the two provinces. Terrorist organizations use these safe havens for training, ideological embedding, and planning. Easy retreats, cross-border movement, and the TTP’s access to NATO weapons have further exacerbated the situation.
The Internal Drivers of Radicalization
Although the Pakistani government alleges that the Afghan Taliban supports the regional terrorist and extremist organizations, the main question is who is responsible for cultivating extremist thinking in Pakistan. Secondly, will it not be an oversimplification to attribute the whole problem to the Afghan Taliban? Indeed, many regional terrorist organizations have established their centers inside Afghanistan, but the bitter truth is that the militant mindset is an internal issue of countries like Pakistan. Extremist ideology has been cultivated inside the Pakistani society through basic fault lines of poverty, unemployment, discriminatory policies, weak governance, and exploiting religion and ethnicities for political and strategic gains.
Nowadays, an alarming situation has unfolded in which social media platforms are being used to spread hate clips. These clips reflect a thought process in which anyone holding a different opinion on matters of politics, ethnicity, sect, or religious belief is hated by others. In South Asia, especially Pakistan, social media is constantly being used for circulating content full of aggression, intolerance, demonization, and ridicule against people holding different opinions. This digital radicalization provides rival nations to exploit fault lines and emotions, leading to the spread of extremism in a country.
In many tribal areas of Pakistan’s Pushton belt and Balochistan, youngsters had been recruited by the Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP*) for many years. They suddenly disappear from their homes and villages, and are later found among the ranks of terrorist organizations. In Balochistan province, the situation is even more alarming as the BLA has started recruiting women among its ranks. Over the past few years, the BLA has used women to conduct terrorist attacks. This reflects the failure of the country’s policymakers, religious scholars, teachers, and law-enforcement agencies.
Why Force Alone Cannot End Terrorism
Balochistan’s conflict has a long history. Despite being a resource-rich region, it is low on economic development and the human development index, which contributes to political alienation. Persistent concerns over provincial autonomy, imposed leadership, federalism, corruption, failed governance, and the absence of the rule of law have further accentuated grievances over the past few decades. Indeed, violence against security forces, foreign workers, and civilians is condemnable and must be curbed; the socio-economic and political grievances sparking conflict must be eradicated.
The same is true for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The policy to only use force to curb extremism and terrorism has not proven effective in the past few years. Military technology and capability could disrupt the militant formations of terrorists; it may not be effective in dismantling their ideology, social fabric, and recruitment process, which contribute to enhancing extremism. The government of Pakistan needs to adopt a comprehensive strategy that includes education, governance reforms, justice, employment, intelligence-driven operations, community engagement, and local policing. All these issues need to be firmly rooted in the rule of law, as it is the foundation of good governance.
Towards a Comprehensive Counterterrorism Strategy
The first step that the government of Pakistan needs to take is to reassess its past policies that led to the growth of extremist narratives in society. Secondly, effective border management must be complemented by sustained diplomatic engagement between Pakistan and Afghanistan to address shared security challenges. Moreover, civilian intelligence and police structures need to be modernized, especially in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In addition, the issue of the recruitment of young boys into militant organizations must be treated as a national emergency. The state needs to curb all the underlying causes of Pashtoon and Baloch youth’s tilt towards terrorist organizations.
Furthermore, social media platforms must be monitored by the government to prevent misuse, incitement, and recruitment while protecting freedom of expression. In addition, educational institutes, mosques, civil society, and media must promote rationalism to strengthen national cohesion, constitutionalism, tolerance, critical thinking, and multiculturalism. Terrorism is a deep-rooted problem in South Asia, especially Pakistan and Afghanistan. Weak governance is the key underlying cause of this problem. Therefore, understanding its triggers, drivers, and causes is necessary to curb this menace. Mere military operations would only exacerbate the situation across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
*- terrorist organizations banned in Russia
Аbbas Hashemite is a political observer and research analyst for regional and global geopolitical issues. He is currently working as an independent researcher and journalist
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