Naseebullah Khan
As per Global Terrorism Index 2022 measuring the impact of terrorism report, Pakistan remained in top 10 most affected countries of terrorism and second most affected in south Asia after Afghanistan.There has been an increase of 5 percent in number of deaths from 2020. The report says that ,171 incidents had happened in 2020, while in 2021, the numbers of incidents increased to 186 incidents. The current wave of violence of Panjgure, and attack on imambargah in Peshawar were not included in it.These incidents reflect that terrorism related violence that had diminished in Pakistan since 2015, has again increased in late 2021 and at the starting of 2022. As per a report of Centre for Research & Security Studies (CRSS) after a consistent decline since 2015, violence in Pakistan increased by an alarming 42 per cent in 2021. The report further said that after the victory of the Taliban in the neighbouring Afghanistan, attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan have increased in the country.The return of violence and surge in terrorist attacks in tribal areas, peshawer, and Balochistan has resulted in many queries as per the recent statement of the government that said that the culprit of Immambargah incident in peshawer was ____ an Afghan citizen and that sleepers cells of Daeash in Pakistan were behind that. The issue is four__ folded as many stakeholders are involved in the terrorism such like the TTP, the ISIS that has shifted its focus to Pakistan, the Baloch insurgents, and the religious extremists.The government, had initiated dialogues with the TTP which was followed by a one month ceasefire that ended on December 11, 2021. Since then, the Taliban again started attacks. Despite the TTP___ the violence owing to the Baloch insurgents, the ISIS, and the extremists and sectarioan violence has also surged in the country. The question is as what went wrong? According to the PIPS as the Afghan Taliban made rapid progress in Afghanistan and started gaining control of various provinces from July onwards, the TTP increased their activity. Does increase in terrorism after the Taliban coming into power not gesticulate that the statements of Prime Minister and his cabinet members that the Taliban have brocken the shackles of slavery and their optimism that the Taliban will not provide sanctuary to TTP? Does it not prove correct that with the emergence of Taliban, the ISIS has accelerated its attacks? At a time when the country is in the midst of profound political uncertainty and division, the surge in terrorism is alarming. There is a dire need of complete functioning of NECTA and true implementation of the NAP alongside a national political consensus.
