Pakistan’s caretaker government may tout counter-terrorism successes, but 25 Pakistani soldiers were killed in what is as of now the highest toll from any single day terror attack in 2023.
Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a new group affiliated with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack on the security check post. The TJP spokesman in his claim said four bombers, belonging to Lakki, Dera Ismail Khan, Swat and Mardan districts, took part in the attack.
Ever since the Afghan Taliban captured power in August 2021, Pakistan has seen a rise in terror attacks. Just in the last month, according to data released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, the country experienced a 34 per cent increase in anti-state violence.
Every time a terror incident happens, the Pakistani military claims “sanitisation operations” are conducted “to eliminate any other terrorists present in the area. Security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthens our resolve.” However, a few days later another incident occurs.
The Pakistani military remains reluctant to admit but the fact staring all of us in the face is that the military’s decades long policy of using jihadis as a lever of regional policy – vis-à-vis India and Afghanistan – has come back to bite Pakistan.
The chickens are coming home to roost!
