Counterterrorism paradox

PAKISTAN’S security forces are fighting terrorism with commitment and high intensity. From sanitisation campaigns and intelligence-based operations to targeted raids and large-scale engagements, the tempo of action is rising. Yet terrorist violence is not receding. July recorded the year’s highest number of attacks, underscoring the grim reality that the security situation is deteriorating, particularly in KP and Balochistan, despite mounting operational pressure on terrorist groups. The return of violence to areas once declared cleared of terrorism is especially troubling. Last week, Swat suffered a devastating suicide bombing outside the Kabal police station. The attacker struck as participants were leaving the Swat People’s Peace Uprising, organised by residents and civil society groups alarmed by renewed terrorist activity in the valley. Seventeen people, including police personnel and civilians, were killed, while more than a dozen were wounded. Though there is confusion about whether the TTP had targeted the peace rally or the police station, whatever the group’s intentions, the attack raises a significant question about how and why the terrorists are increasing their operational base. Balochistan, meanwhile, experienced one of its worst months of violence in recent years. July saw coordinated, high-impact attacks across Mastung, Lasbela, Ziarat, Kech and Khuzdar. These incidents demonstrated both the geographic reach of armed terrorist groups and their ability to challenge the state simultaneously in dispersed locations. The security response was substantial. According to data maintained by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies, 26 anti-militant operations were recorded across Pakistan in July, compared with 24 in June. Conducted mainly by the army, Frontier Corps and police counterterrorism departments, these operations killed 205 terrorists. Eighteen operations took place in Balochistan and eight in KP. In Quetta and the adjoining Shaban and Hanna Urak a