KEY POINTS
- Pakistan’s civil and military leadership vow decisive action against terrorists and their facilitators
- Army Chief stresses addressing governance gaps to effectively fight terrorism
- Military leadership briefed political leadership about the security situation
- Army Chief asks all stakeholders of the country to work in harmony for stability
- The COAS requests Ulemas to expose the distorted interpretation of Islam propagated by terrorists
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s political and military leadership met on Tuesday at the Parliamentary Committee on National Security after perhaps the most significant terror attack in 11 years since the Peshawar APS school incident, when a 36-hour long hostage crisis involving a passenger train shook the entire nation.
The high-level meeting attended by Pakistan’s civil and military leadership reviewed the country’s security environment. During the moot, the military leadership briefed the country’s lawmakers that Pakistan cannot decisively win the war against terrorism if the military alone continues to fight the terrorists only through kinetic means, without tangible and timely political, social and economic measures being taken by the Federal and Provincial governments, which have caused the revival of terrorism.
“How long can governance gaps be filled with the blood of martyrs?” the Army Chief asked lawmakers.
Military has repeatedly complained at several Corp Commanders and formation Commanders conferences as well as various background briefings that the political ownership and civilian commitment must be evident through effective and timely actions, not merely public statements which condemn terrorists, appreciate the courage of armed forces and express sympathy for the victims.
During the meeting, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir said that there is no agenda greater than the security of the country. “For stability, all stakeholders of the country must work in harmony,” the Army Chief stressed.
The COAS maintained that this is a battle for the country’s survival and the survival of future generations. “We need better governance and must make Pakistan a strong state. How long will we continue to sacrifice countless lives while functioning as a soft state?” the COAS asked the lawmakers.
The Army Chief urged religious scholars (Ulemas) to expose the distorted interpretation of Islam propagated by terrorists.
“There is nothing more important to us than the security of the country,” the Army Chief reiterated.
The Army Chief stressed that in order to ensure the country’s security, all stakeholders must speak with one voice, move beyond political and personal interests, and create a unified national narrative.
According to Pakistan’s National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), the revised National Action Plan, 2021 identified fourteen key policy steps to meet the grave challenge that terrorism continues to pose against Pakistan’s national security. Ironically, most of these long overdue actions fall within in the civilian domains and awaiting implementation for several years.
These policy steps, which are available on the NACTA website are as follows:
- Intolerance for Militancy – No Militant/Armed/Identified Criminal Gangs be Allowed to Operate.
- Action Against Spread of Terrorism Through Media (Electronic, Print & Social Media) Communication & Cyber networks.
- Effective Measures Against Religious / Sectarian Persecution & Terrorism
- Choking of Terror Financing & Proscribed Organizations
- Curb Increasing Trends of Illegal Spectrum (Narco, Weapons & Human Trafficking)
- Follow up of Counter Terrorism (CT) cases in Courts to conclusive end.
- Capacity Building / Strengthening of Counter Terrorism Departments.
- Formulation, Institutionalization & Implementation of Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Policy.
- Regulation & Registration of Religious Seminaries / Madaris.
- Balochistan Reconciliation Process.
- Merged Areas of KP Reforms (NFC, Capacity Building of Law Enforcement Agencies, Local Government Elections & Land Reforms).
- Reforms in the Criminal Justice System (CJS).
- Legislative / Legal Oversight for Espionage / Subversion.
- Repatriation of Afghan Refugees and dealing with their issues.
Military expects Federal and provincial governments to implement the unfulfilled agenda of the National Action Plan as it believes that military action is not enough to eliminate terrorism without taking these vital steps.
Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think tank which monitors and conducts research on terrorism, stated in its recent Pakistan Security Report 2024 that over 95 percent of terrorist attacks took place in the western provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
However, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan’s main opposition party is reluctant to offer full political and administrative support for a decisive action and wants to engage in dialogue. This has angered the Army and worried the Federal government because PTI is the ruling party in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is the worst affected by terrorist attacks.
On 17th March 2025 Pakistan and China presented a resolution before the United Nations Security Council to promote peace, security and development in Afghanistan which faces complex challenges of terrorism, drugs and development. This resolution was unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council.
On this occasion, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to UN Ambassador Munir Akram briefed the Security Council that despite Islamabad’s continued support for adequate international humanitarian assistance to help the Afghan people, Afghanistan continues to be the dominant source of terrorism in South, Central and West Asia and has emerged as the epi-centre for twenty major global and regional terrorist organizations, ranging from Al-Qaeda, ISKP/Daesh, ETIM, IMU, TTP and BLA, among several others.
On the same day, Pakistan’s Foreign Office summoned Afghan Chargé d’Affaires to lodge a strong protest for the frequent use of Afghan soil in the recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan. Pakistan also demanded an explanation from Afghanistan regarding the Jaffar Express attack as the terrorists involved were in direct contact with handlers based inside Afghan territory and asked the Kabul Administration to take stern action against the terrorist groups involved in carrying out attacks inside Pakistan.
Pakistan has, therefore, demanded that the international community and the Security Council address terrorism both within and from Afghanistan on a priority basis and acknowledged the UNSC’s strong statement of condemnation against the terrorist attack on Jaffar Express and taking passengers as hostages. The UNSC underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financers and sponsors of terrorist acts accountable and to bring them to justice and also called on all States to cooperate actively with Pakistan to this end.
The strongly worded UN Security Council resolution expressed serious concern over the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan and further reaffirmed its demand that the territory of Afghanistan must not be used to threaten or attack any country, to plan or finance terrorist acts, or to shelter and train terrorists against any country and Afghan interim government must take active measures to combat terrorism.
Pakistan urged the Security Council and its Counter-Terrorism machinery to take active measures to address the challenge of terrorism within and from Afghanistan, particularly from ISIL-K, Al-Qaida, TTP, BLA and Majeed Brigade, which pose serious threats to global and regional peace and security.
Border tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have risen since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul as terrorist groups frequently use Afghan soil and massive quantities of sophisticated weapons left by Western ISAF forces four years ago, to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
According to several recent reports, the interim Afghan government currently faces an intense power struggle within its own ranks between Kandahar, its ideological power centre and Haqqanis, their main fighting force. Afghan Taliban’s ideological leadership is known for its rigid interpretation of Islamic law and sympathy for TTP, which is the main source of terrorism inside Pakistan.
In contrast, Haqqanis, once the most feared opponents of the Western forces for almost two decades, have recently called for a moderate and inclusive form of government which can stabilize Afghanistan and also reduce international concerns. However, the Taliban’s ideological leadership seems reluctant to moderate its domestic policies and restrain terrorist organizations, which are attacking neighbouring countries, particularly Pakistan.
Pakistan’s patience with the terrorist organizations and Afghan ambivalence has almost run out. Chief Spokesman of the Pakistani military Lt. Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry recently stated at a Press Conference that “the rules of the game have changed” after BLA, which uses Afghan territory took more than three hundred and fifty passengers hostage in a major national crisis which lasted 36 hours, before Pakistan Army Commandoes and Pakistan Air Force killed thirty-three terrorists and rescued the passengers.
According to security sources, it is possible that after several major terrorist attacks and failing to convince the Kabul Administration through bilateral and multilateral diplomacy to end tolerance and support for terrorists, Islamabad may decide to directly target BLA and TTP bases and hideouts inside Afghanistan.
The adoption of the recent UN Security Council Resolution “calling for bringing terrorists to justice” and the Parliamentary Committee on National Security’s meeting indicates that the necessary diplomatic and legal groundwork is being carried out and political support is being built before Pakistan can decide to take matters in its own hands and act decisively against both BLA and TTP, after gaining both domestic and international support.
