EFFECTIVE governance is the best antidote to terrorism. The state’s counterterrorism response has to showcase its best governance practices, including kinetic and non-kinetic means. Terrorism is like a disease that proliferates when it gets a propitious environment. Public frustrations, lack of livelihood, lax policing, and an administrative vacuum serve as the perfect palette for the spread of terrorism.

The merged districts of KP have been affected by a prolonged wave of terrorism, because of which the full range of development and economic initiatives could not be delivered. These areas, wracked by terrorism since the early 2000s, have seen instability due to cross-border movement during the Taliban resistance era of 2003-2021, and an influx of terrorists after 2021.

The hurried US withdrawal left Afghanistan in the hands of a Taliban regime with a mediaeval outlook on statecraft as well as interstate relations. Terrorist entities like the TTP that were pushed out from the merged districts through a series of military operations culminating in Operation Zarb-i-Azb, staged a comeback in 2021 after the US departure. Contrary to Pakistan’s expectations, the Afghan Taliban regime’s policy towards the TTP was driven through a mix of........

© Dawn