Daily Times

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Science and Technology Atif Khan has allegedly received a terrifying letter from the Tehreek-e-Taliban, demanding Rs 8 million in extortion within three days. This letter comes amid uproar over reports about the TTP resurgence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Despite a knee-jerk denial, the implications of this letter go far beyond an immediate threat to Atif Khan. If the highest ranking government officer in the provincial government can receive a gruesome threat of this nature, it gives more and more weight to the reservations about none of the citizens being safe.

Just last week, a school van driver lost his life to a terror attack in Swat, propelling the National Security Committee to reassess the security situation in the area. An apex committee led by the prime minister will also reinstitute the National Counter-Terrorism Authority, which has been useful for gathering. But anyone calling it a recent phenomenon is adamant about living in a fool’s paradise: for the last decade or so, KPK has become a breeding ground for terrorist activity due to its proximity to Afghanistan. KPK shares 1,100 kilometres of land with Afghanistan. Now that the Taliban has an official government in Kabul, it has become substantially easier for the Pakistani Taliban to coordinate and collude with them.

We must recall the events of 2011 when militants fired three shots at former KPK Housing Minister Amjad Khan Afridi in Kohat. While he came out unscathed, it is evident that terrorist elements in the area have consistently sought to undermine the provincial government. A threat of this nature is hugely demoralising for those who live in KP, particularly the Swat region, where the state had led an anti-militancy campaign; forcing many to evacuate their homes or migrate from the area. The TTP had agreed to a “permanent ceasefire” in the Swat Valley in 2009 after years of brutal militancy. but instability looms across the horizon again.

Gripped with insecurity and the possibility of a TTP resurrection in the region, many in Swat and Shangla have taken to the streets to protest terrorism in the region, which more than 15,000 people have attended. It is quite strange that the public has been far quicker in sensing the battle that lies ahead in comparison with those in power still mulling over the best foot forward. It is up to the government to take charge of the situation before the horrors of the past repeat themselves in an unimaginably grotesque undertone. *