Once again, Pakistan’s northwestern periphery is aflame, both with violence and a profound sense of abandonment. North Waziristan, Bajaur and other districts of the former Fata region are slipping into a familiar nightmare: one of curfews, militant negotiations and a reeling civilian population caught between insurgents and an uncertain state response. The imposition of a complete curfew in North Waziristan and peace jirgas attempting to persuade local militant leaders to leave Bajaur is a rather frightening and sobering throwback: we have been here before. Unfortunately, the brief hope kindled by the merger of the tribal areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018 has not been met with the necessary infrastructure, development, or most crucially, sustainable peace. Friday’s peace march in Shewa tehsil, attended by tribal elders, political representatives and PTM activists, can be seen as an effort at organising for survival. Speaker after speaker warned of re-emerging militancy and faltering state strategies. The presence of the TTP and the state’s reactive posture have left residents feeling defenceless in their own homes.
Meanwhile, the government’s reliance on jirgas to convince militant leaders to relocate, either back to Afghanistan or into remote mountain ranges, reveals just how thinly stretched and politically compromised the security apparatus is. This is not a counterterrorism strategy but rather appeasement. What complicates the picture further is the latest UN Monitoring Team report, which says what Islamabad has long feared and what residents have long endured: the TTP enjoys a permissive environment in Afghanistan. Supported by the de-facto Taliban authorities, the TTP maintains ties with IS-K, Al Qaeda and Baloch separatist groups. It is reportedly training fighters and coordinating attacks using smuggled weapons and advanced tactics, including drone assaults like the one in Bannu last week. The border, supposedly fortified by fencing and surveillance, sadly remains porous for extremist networks.
Despite growing pressure on Kabul to sever ties with such groups, the Afghan Taliban appear unwilling or unable to dismantle the TTP’s infrastructure. Instead, the region is being used as a staging ground for attacks inside Pakistan. Yet what is equally alarming is the state’s weak messaging at home. While the Federal Constabulary commandant speaks of restructuring and new recruitment, and peace jirgas voice support for the military, there is little evidence of a strategic shift to re-establish civilian writ. Without political will, cross-border diplomacy and genuine investment in the lives of citizens in these districts, no amount of kinetic counters will secure peace. The re-emergence of the TTP in KP’s merged districts should not be viewed as a series of isolated events. It is a systemic failure which can be traced to the absence of governance, a fragile regional context and a strategic ambiguity that leaves civilians to pick up the pieces. These districts have bled enough. We need to perhaps re-centre the voices of our citizens who are demanding peace, justice and dignity.