On 22 October 2018, the Pakistan Army handed over the administrative powers of the Swat region to the civilian authorities. This event has brought a 10 year long military operation, meant to eliminate terror groups, to an end. Ten years before, the Swat region was infested with terrorism being done by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) led by Mullah Fazlullah. The Army was given powers to flush out the Taliban militants committing terrorist acts, as the Swat region had undergone the agony of experiencing many suicides and other terrorist attacks causing a number of casualties to the people of the area. To eliminate terrorism the military had to carry out some very daring operations and as a consequence terrorist were defeated, although the military sacrificed a lot. Even after conducting successful operations, the military needed to retain the administrative control of the region to make sure that the fleeing terrorists are denied any future foothold in the area. In fact, sufficient time was required to carry out the search operations to trace out the hiding terrorists, to apprehend/punish them and also to rehabilitate suspect terrorists and their sympathizers. At the same time the military was required to build the capacity of the police and civilian administration to counter future threats of terrorism. And once the military had done its job, it still took too long that the civilian administration felt confident to take over the administrative powers from the Army. However, 22 October 2018, was a memorable day in the history of the Swat region as it marked the success of the anti terrorism campaign of the Army, the elimination of terrorism in the region and also an end to the ten year long ordeal that the people of Swat had gone through. The long ten years were a test for the people of the area. The terrorists destroyed educational institutions and socioeconomic activities. But, Pakistan’s Armed Forces in collaboration with the police, paramilitary forces and the locals fought the war with gallantry and determination, and eradicated the menace from the entire valley. In the context of fighting terrorism, Pakistan’s neighbour and other players who are operating in the region should realise that it is not possible to defeat terrorism by evading responsibilities and resorting to the blame game, as is being done by stakeholders in the region. Instead, terrorism can only be defeated by determination and professionalism, which has been displayed by the Pakistan’s Armed Forces, along with the national resolve shown by the Pakistani people. Whereas India and Afghanistan have blamed Pakistan for supporting terror groups to carry out terrorist attacks in their respective countries, though the on ground facts are totally different. Pakistan has never allowed its territory to be used against any other country and it expects similar behaviour from other countries. India and Afghanistan have blamed Pakistan for supporting terror groups to carry out terrorist attacks in their respective countries, though the on ground facts are totally different In view of the above regional situation, it is hoped that after taking over the administrative powers back from the military, the civil administration in Swat will continue to enhance the capacity of its police and other anti terrorism tentacles to keep the area safe from any possibility of return of terrorists. As has been done in Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should also endeavour to create a police force and other relevant departments for FATA to enable it to become a part of the province, so that the military could hand over the administrative powers of FATA to the civil administration without any further delay Also, to eliminate any future chances of terrorists crossing over to Pakistan from Afghanistan and conducting terrorist attacks, especially till peace returns to Afghanistan, it is important that the federal as well the provincial government should implement the national action plan (NAP) in spirit. In view of the prevailing regional scenario, it is even more important to develop and maintain the counterterrorism capacity of all relevant ministries and security forces to the required level, to exercise constant vigilance to stop and fight all terrorist attacks in the future. In any case, even after handing over power to the civil administration in Swat and FATA, the military will continue to exercise vigilance as part of the ongoing Radd-ul-Fasaad operation. The writer is an ex-Army Colonel, a former Research Fellow of Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), Islamabad and Senior Research Fellow, Strategic Vision Institute, Islamabad Published in Daily Times, November 15th 2018.