Daily Times

A terrorist attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat has resulted in the deaths of six police officers who were on patrol duties at the time of the incident. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, adding that its own fighters “managed to reach their base safely,” after looting the police vehicle they targeted. The TTP waged their armed rebellion against the Pakistani government over a decade ago; finding a safe haven in the rugged and unforgiving landscape of the Pak-Afghan border. In May this year, TTP extended its indefinite ceasefire with Islamabad but has already violated it several times since; continuing to instigate aggression in KP which could have serious security implications for the province.

The banned group has become even more emboldened in their affronts since the Taliban formed an official government in Afghanistan, remaining firm in its demand for a demerged FATA, which the Pakistani government has rightfully deemed unconstitutional; this deadlock has set the stage for a fresh wave of insurgency in KP. Swat is already bearing the cost. In August, TTP militants detained police personnel and an army officer after security forces launched an operation against militancy in the area. In September, TTP violence reached new heights in a roadside bomb attack against a peace committee member that claimed eight lives. In October, an unknown assailant opened fire on a local school bus driver, prompting thousands of anxious people to protest increased violence in the area.

The TTP’s deadliest attack to date against a Peshawar school in 2014 left 141 dead, propelling the government to devise the National Action Plan where the government vowed to never negotiate with terrorists again. Eight years later, we find ourselves at the same crossroads, with the Pakistani military gaining parliamentary approval to continue engaging with the country’s deadliest terrorist organisation. Having made several concessions to the TTP already, the government must proceed with extreme caution and remember that backdoor peace deals with terrorists are always fraught with complications. Pakistan is already facing a myriad of other socio-political challenges that take priority over negotiations with a group that has proved it cannot be trusted, time and time again. *