9 hours Ago
Overnight, tragic news has emerged of 16 soldiers martyred on Saturday in a terrorist attack on a checkpost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan District. The attack, claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is a grim reminder of the unrelenting violence faced by Pakistani forces in the region. Such tragedies should not, and cannot, be ignored.
The loss of 16 soldiers in a single attack is an appalling and unacceptable toll. These are figures typically associated with active war zones like Gaza, Ukraine, or South Sudan, where heavy weaponry and open warfare define the conflict. To witness such numbers regularly within Pakistan’s borders, spread across regions like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Swat, and Chitral, is a stark indicator of a security crisis spiraling out of control.
Pakistan is facing a two-front insurgency: one led by the TTP in the north and northwest and the other spearheaded by groups like the Baloch Liberation Army in Balochistan. These threats, often funded and supported by external forces, have become a persistent scourge. Despite repeated assurances from Pakistan’s leadership, filled with rhetoric about unyielding resolve and leaving “no stone unturned,” tangible action appears absent.
Neither a decisive military operation nor a reduction in such attacks has materialized. Europe’s Selective Outrage Each time Pakistan endures an attack, we hear of counterinsurgency operations claiming the elimination of specific numbers of terrorists. However, these reactive measures seem to have little impact on the operational capabilities of militant groups.
The continued frequency and ferocity of these attacks suggest a failure of counterinsurgency strategies. If terrorists can brazenly infiltrate and carry out such devastating attacks, killing 16 of our brave soldiers in a single day, it is a damning indictment of the state’s inability to safeguard its borders and its defenders. This is not a norm Pakistan can afford to accept.
It is imperative that the government and military leadership urgently reevaluate their approach, adopting proactive measures to neutralize these threats. Anything less would dishonor the sacrifices of those who continue to lay down their lives in defense of the nation. Tags: violence continue.
