As the terror nexus jacks up its heinous attacks against Pakistan, the usual distracting noises from the civil society, media and the political class are rising. In a fast-changing global order with unilateralism as the key trend in global politics, Pakistan needs to keep its house in order fast.

Besides economic challenges, the most important threat Pakistan faces today is the terror cocktail of religious terrorists blending with the BLA terrorists, supported by regional rivals, mainly India and Taliban led Afghanistan.

The situation has been complicated by the anarchist leadership of PTI whose incarcerated leader, now a convicted felon, has brought his party and the provincial government into a direct conflict with the federal government and the security apparatus of Pakistan

Armed by leftover weapons, equipment and gadgets by the US in 2021, financed by both India and Afghanistan, the terrorists have spiked their attacks in KP and Balochistan. The figures speak for themselves. The situation has been complicated by the anarchist leadership of PTI whose incarcerated leader, now a convicted felon, has brought his party and the provincial government into a direct conflict with the federal government and the security apparatus of Pakistan.

It is in this backdrop that the National Security Committee of the parliament is meeting today to chart out a plan to take these challenges heads on. The very fact that the PTI and its small partners have boycotted the session, they have practically given a walkover to the government and the security agencies. Had the PTI attended the session today, they would have only created the white noise to drag the session and at best they would have tried to seek concessions for their incarcerated leader from the representatives of the security establishment and the federal government. With their boycott, they have lost the moral, political and legal reasons to criticize the plan and the policies to be adopted today.

Pakistan would have to address the new wave of terrorism both at home and abroad since the sources, drivers and support systems of this wave are rooted both internally and externally.

The recent rise of the TTP after its rout in 2017 and multiple operations that started after the APS attack and the roll out of the National Action Plan, has a lot to do with our Afghan policy leading to the Doha process enabling the restoration of the Taliban regime in Kabul in August 2021. While Americans were hell bent upon cut and run policy during the Doha process, it would have helped Pakistan to have a broad-based government in Kabul rather than the Taliban government but that couldn’t take place.

Sadly, the Modi government in India is collaborating with Afghan Taliban due to its short-sighted tactical approach to weaken Pakistan

Terrorism watchers have been saying it for decades that all religious terrorists are connected at the hip. Al-Qaeda, Afghan Taliban, TTP and other terror groups are ideologically and organically linked. They feed off each other and can’t go against each other. The recent reports of the UN Security Council committee prove it with hard facts and the data. The current Afghan government is doing exactly what its predecessor did before they were thrown out in 2001. The current Afghan government is currently posing more threats against Pakistan by providing safe sanctuaries, logistics, finances and manpower to TTP and the Baloch terrorists but it will do the same against other neighboring countries of Central Asia, Iran and China, if they are not thrown out of power.

Sadly, the Modi government in India is collaborating with Afghan Taliban due to its short-sighted tactical approach to weaken Pakistan. There is no common cause between the medieval Afghan Taliban and the extremist Hindutva BJP but instead of resolving the age old Kashmir dispute with Pakistan, it has decided to bleed Pakistan while India is isolated in the neighborhood with strained ties with pretty much every neighbors starting with Pakistan, China, Maldives, Sri Lanka and now Bangladesh.

With international isolation continuing and deepening after the second term of President Trump, who has criticized the Biden led hasty, nasty and haphazard withdrawal of 2021 and demanded to get back the leftover weapons and equipment in Afghanistan, with international sources of funding drying out, the schism in the Taliban government going up north, the chances of survival of the Taliban government are not too bright. Pakistan needs to engage with different power groups of Afghanistan as well as the neighbors of Afghanistan to help the creation of a broad-based Afghan government as the new wave of instability in Afghanistan will not only destabilize Pakistan but the entire region.

If the Gandapur government doesn’t sober up and realize the gravity of the situation, then it should be dumped using the emergency provisions

The PTI has been ruling the KP since 2013. The APS happened under its watch while they kept pleading for opening the offices for the TTP. In last 12 years of its rule, it has done nothing to deradicalize the province. It has failed to establish and strengthen the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in those dozen years. The performance of the anti terrorism courts in the province is miserable. While the province is slipping fast of its control to TTP, it has been busy spending billions of the taxpayers money to finance multiple invasions of the federal capital, Islamabad.

This should be the wake-up call for other political parties of the province as well as the federal government. If the Gandapur government doesn’t sober up and realize the gravity of the situation, then it should be dumped using the emergency provisions. The current government of the province is trying to add more problems rather than trying to become a part of the solution to this mounting terror wave.

The current wave of Baloch terrorists is intense because of the massive resources employed by Pakistan’s arch rival India and the new bases and facilities provided to them by Afghan Taliban. While partly it can be addressed by taking the “Afghan Problem” heads on, the long term plan in Balochistan is must to address the age old problem.

Strong, empowered Balochistan government, a long term economic inclusive program and a locally developed kinetic force with strong support from Islamabad will address the Balochistan insurgency in the long run.

Pakistan must make its Marshall Plan to address the integration, inclusion and development of Balochistan specially integrating the young Baloch people to create more stakes in Pakistan’s federal system. Special affirmative and inclusion programs are needed to reduce the attraction of the radical groups pushing the Baloch young people to the suicidal path chosen by the overseas leaders of the Baloch separatist movement. Strong, empowered Balochistan government, a long term economic inclusive program and a locally developed kinetic force with strong support from Islamabad will address the Balochistan insurgency in the long run.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.