The assault on the Frontier Constabulary headquarters in Peshawar has reopened questions that have been hanging over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for months. Three suicide attackers tried to force their way into the compound during the morning assembly, killing three FC personnel and injuring two others before they were stopped at the gate. Had they broken through, the toll would have been far higher, especially considering the 150 personnel on parade and the fact that the headquarters sits on one of the city’s busiest roads.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been hit by a steady run of violence this year (the police bombing in Peshawar, roadside explosions in North Waziristan, repeated strikes on posts in Tank and Lakki Marwat, and the Independence Day attacks on city checkpoints) and the assault on the FC headquarters has now added another entry to that list.
Investigators say the Peshawar attackers were Afghan nationals. This detail aligns with earlier warnings from Islamabad that the TTP leadership continues to operate from across the border under the watch of the Afghan Taliban. Kabul rejects these claims, yet the operational trail of many recent attacks points in the same direction. The tension this creates is visible. Pakistan cannot ignore the growing frequency of cross-border linkages and Afghanistan cannot pretend they do not exist.
Some people have floated the notion that Pakistan’s extremism problem is a hoax. Monday’s events in Peshawar should settle that argument. Pakistan has recorded more than 1,500 terrorist incidents in 2025–a sharp rise from previous years. The year 2024 was the deadliest in nearly a decade, with 2,526 people killed in attacks. Hundreds of security personnel and civilians were among them.
The official reaction followed the usual pattern of statements of condemnation and praise for the security forces. For the situation to shift, however, it must be recognised that similar pledges have followed every major attack while the violence continues to rise. Pakistan can no longer afford business as usual. Policymakers admit these attacks are part of a calculated campaign that demands effective intelligence coordination and decisive action.
These pages have long argued the folly of trying to “negotiate” with the militants. A ceasefire in late 2022 only allowed the group to regroup and intensify its campaign. That mistake must not be repeated, especially through any quiet political channels the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government wishes to keep open with Kabul. Chief Minister Afridi and the PTI leadership’s presence at the funeral prayers offered a necessary signal of unity. The harder task begins now. Counter-terror is not a switchboard you flip. It needs to be treated as a file that must stay on top of every desk until it is closed for good. The frontline forces have done what they could. The responsibility now lies higher up the chain. *