At a time when Pakistan is once again counting its dead in the tribal belt, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government appears to be playing politics with national security. Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s pronouncement that his province “will not allow any operation” is reckless. In counterterrorism, ambiguity is oxygen for insurgents. The TTP knows this. And so does Kabul.
The record is stark. In recent weeks, operations in Bajaur, South Waziristan and Lower Dir left 19 soldiers martyred and at least 45 militants killed.
The fighting is intense and the sacrifice heavy. Every credible assessment points to the same conclusion. The TTP is operating from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. It coordinates cross-border infiltrations, ambushes, and targeted attacks using IEDs and snipers. It remains a hardened insurgency.
This is why his words are so damaging. They signal to militants that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a divided front and weaken Pakistan’s ability to press Kabul, which already refuses to rein in the TTP. They complicate coordination between civilian and military institutions and erode credibility. In counterinsurgency, fractured political messaging is not a nuisance. It is a liability that emboldens the enemy and demoralises the front line.
Military campaigns do disrupt lives. No qualms about that. In Swat, South Waziristan and North Waziristan, millions were displaced in earlier operations.
Many communities are still recovering. The lesson from those campaigns is not that operations should be abandoned. It is that force must be paired with governance. Relief, compensation, and the extension of state services must follow military action.
Pakistan cannot afford a provincial veto on national security. Terrorism does not respect administrative boundaries. The Centre and the provinces must present one message, one strategy, one resolve. Anything else risks repeating the cycle of bloodshed.
The cost is already high. In just one weekend this month, nearly twenty soldiers gave their lives on the Afghan frontier. Their sacrifice demands seriousness from those who claim to lead. Politics can wait. Security cannot. *