Law enforcers transporting people injured in a bombing
A Daesh claimed bombing targeting a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) in Bajaur on Sunday killed 54 people and injured at least 80, prompting an outpouring of outrage. Occurring near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, the incident has naturally raised anew questions over militants staging attacks from across the Durand Line. Both the civilian and military leaderships, in recent weeks, have been lamenting the Afghan Taliban’s inability to curb havens and freedom of movement of militants on their soil, especially in light of the risk resurgent militancy poses to Islamabad’s attempts at economic revival through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Worryingly, the prevailing political unrest is proving a distraction from the rising threat of extremism, with the government and military alike appearing more concerned with tackling Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) than the threat mounting on the western border. Even more concerning is the expansion of militancy beyond the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to groups like Al Qaeda and Daesh, which the world has not been able to root out.
Despite the military’s vows to target all militants without distinction, there is no denying it has—in the past—tolerated or even supported extremist groups that targeted American interests in Afghanistan. The tall claims of “breaking the shackles of slavery” mean little to the Afghan Taliban, who have claimed little control over organizations like Al Qaeda, which continue to attract supporters convinced it will bring about a new “ideal” Islamic state. The core problem remains, as it always has, Pakistan’s failure to “normalize” its erstwhile tribal areas, creating conditions conducive to the rise of militancy.