How many more?

A convoy of 11 diplomats from 11 different countries was targeted by an improvised explosive device (IED) this past Sunday (September 22) in Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, martyring one police official and injuring three others. The convoy was reportedly heading to the tourist resort of Malam Jabba after they attended a function, hosted by the Swat-based traders and business community. Sadly, this is not the first time that foreign diplomats, workers, and even teachers, a key piece of the country’s economic revival, have been targeted by terrorists this year. While, thankfully, no diplomats were killed in this latest attack, these incidents illustrate how foreigners trying to help the country have been caught up in its terror resurgence. An inability to ensure the safety and security of foreign workers and diplomats is something a country seeking to attract foreign investment and expand its trading relationships can scarce afford. And it is almost as though the outfits behind this attack know this.

Ever since the return of the Afghan Taliban to power in 2021, KP and Balochistan have borne the brunt of the terror resurgence. According to data from the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), of the 59 terror attacks that took place in August this year, 29 attacks took place in KP and 28 in Balochistan. A United Nations monitoring report has claimed that the TTP is now the largest terror group active in Afghanistan and enjoys operational and logistical support from the Afghan Taliban despite its attacks against Pakistan. The report also affirms many other things that Islamabad has asserted in recent months such as that the Afghan Taliban takeover has given the TTP access to high-calibre Nato weaponry left behind after its hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and that the TTP has often utilized Afghans to launch attacks in Pakistan. While the TTP has denied involvement in the attack on the diplomatic convoy, the monitoring report illustrates how anti-Pakistan terror groups have been able to find space to operate across the western border and launch attacks in Pakistan. As such, convincing the Afghan Taliban to crack down on any terror groups operating on its soil and getting them to understand the corrosive impact terrorism has on regional development and stability remain important.

That being said, Islamabad has already put pressure on the Afghan Taliban to do this but they have, thus far, remained unyielding. This means that internal security measures will likely be the key difference maker in the fight against terror. In the aftermath of the attack in Swat, it was disconcerting to hear a cabinet member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government claim that the provincial government was not informed in advance about the diplomats’ visit to the area. If this claim is true, it points to a lack of coordination and synergy in Pakistan’s security arrangements. Different law-enforcement agencies and governments have to be kept in the loop so that security efforts are better coordinated. Most importantly, we have to strengthen the institution that can stop terror attacks before they even take place. The police can no longer be underfunded, under-trained, under-equipped and generally neglected. Our first line of defence (the police) struggling to do their job just makes the job of terrorists easier.