Pakistan is once again bleeding. A suicide blast in Quetta and an IED in Waziristan, following months of escalating violence, make it impossible to deny the truth.
Militancy is resurging, and our enemies are exploiting every weakness. Nearly a thousand Pakistanis have already died this year, the result of deliberate choices made beyond our borders.
The Global Terrorism Index records one of the sharpest rises in fatalities worldwide, with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan identified as the fastest-growing terrorist group. Since the Taliban’s return to Kabul, the TTP has enjoyed strategic depth on Afghan soil.
It recruits, rearms and regroups under the protection of those who claim to govern Afghanistan. Afghan forces have even fired on Pakistani positions, a signal that Kabul has become less a partner and more a shield for those waging war on us.
New Delhi has also played its hand. From Balochistan to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, evidence has surfaced of Indian networks funding, arming and amplifying proxies.
Each new wave of attacks is accompanied by propaganda designed to portray Pakistan as a failing state. The Modi government prefers to bleed its neighbour in this way rather than face the consequences of open conflict.
The state’s response, however, has been uneven and at times, self-defeating. After Quetta, messages from the head of state and the head of government added to the chaos instead of offering clarity. Whether the perpetrators were Fitna-ul-Hindustan or Fitnatul Khwarij, the least the state can do is identify the enemy.
Everything else will come later. These pages have, time and again, emphasised that there is no time for euphemism. Pakistan needs a unified strategy that matches the scale of the threat, including but not limited to airtight border control, relentless diplomatic pressure on Kabul, exposure of India’s proxies, and modernised counterterror institutions at home.
Those at the helm of our affairs never tire of telling the world that the stakes go far beyond Pakistan, and they are right: terror sanctuaries in Afghanistan are not only a dagger pointed at us but a destabilising force for the entire region.
Beijing, Tehran and Moscow have already cautioned Kabul that continued support for militant groups will erase what little legitimacy the Taliban still possess.
That should count as a diplomatic gain, but talk alone will not close safe havens or stop bombs from tearing through our cities. Pakistan has already wasted too many years in denial. One more decade of half-measures will not just weaken us. It will break us. *