The year 2026 did not bode well for Pakistan in terms of internal security. There appears to be no let-up in the incidents of terrorism. The Global Terrorism Index and other conflict monitors also indicate an alarming rise in fatalities, attacks and militant capacity. Pakistan's earlier gains against terrorism appear to be reversing.

The challenges of terrorism in Pakistan are mostly concentrated in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The former faces the ever-emerging threat of TTP, ISKP and affiliated groups, while the latter continues to grapple with separatist militancy led by organisations such as BLA. Of note in this power game is a new dimension, marked by the nexus between these terrorist outfits and the Afghan Taliban.

Undoubtedly, Afghanistan is considered as one of the major sanctuaries and operational spaces for TTP. The return of the Afghan Taliban to power in August 2021 has not only disturbed the regional security environment and emboldened several militant networks but also negatively impacted the socio-economic structure of the aforementioned provinces. Safe havens enable planning, training and ideological embedding. Cross-border movement, easy retreats and the availability of sophisticated weapons have added fuel to fire.

However, the more fundamental question remains: who cultivated the seeds of extremist thinking in the first place? Will it be not too simplistic to attribute the whole problem to Afghanistan? There are no two opinions that the nucleus of the organisational........

© The Express Tribune