Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) is a province bordering Afghanistan, and for over two decades, it has stood on the frontlines of Pakistan’s war against terrorism. Its geographical placement shared tribal culture with Afghanistan, and, above all, the porous Durand Line hasrendered this province highly vulnerable to cross-border militancy. This terrain has served as home to the militants, especially the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who have found convenient Mongol-type Afghan sanctuaries for attacks inside Pakistan. In KPK, the insurgency against Pakistan is not only a security problem but perhaps a test of resilience, a test of patience, and a test of sacrifice for Pakistan itself and particularly its army.

You cannot really understand the insurgency in KPK without considering Afghanistan’s influence. For Pakistan, the death of its soldiers, the unmet peace accords with militants, the invisible hand of foreign actors, and the best efforts of planned missions to save civilians have characterized this conflict. Whereas there have been betrayals by TTP, state thinking continues to prefer dialogue over force. At the same time, Pakistan has committed to rebuilding and rehabilitating affected areas, reflecting the fact that the struggle has not only been military but also humanitarian and developmental.

Historical Context of Insurgency in KPK

After the US attack on Afghanistan in 2001, thousands of militants fled across the porous Pakistan-Afghanistan border into the tribal belt and adjoining areas of KPK. This cross-border spillover gave birth to an insurgency that soon got entrenched in Pakistan with the establishment of the TTP formally as a militant organization in 2007, enjoining other extremist groups under a single banner. Its basic goal was the destabilization of Pakistan and the imposition of its own version of Sharia and resistance to state authority in KPK.

Its first dual challenge was to exit the soil of rigorous militancy and grapple with the external factor, namely Afghanistan, which continues to be a haven for many of these militants.

Pakistan Army Sacrifices and Struggles for Peace:

It has always been the army that has driven the battle for peace in KPK. In various well-known operations conducted in the areas of Swat, Waziristan, and other restive regions, like Operation Rah-e-Haq, Rah-e-Rast, Zarb-e-Azb, and Radd-ul-Fasaad, martyrs of thousands of soldiers were born.

The army has repeatedly wagged war to win, but has tried time and again to win an agreement that could end the war without bloodshed. Different agreements were signed between the TTP and others over the years, basing........

© The Spine Times