ince the arrival of the Taliban administration in Kabul, Pakistan’s security problems in the areas bordering Afghanistan have increased. A wall seems to be coming up between the two countries along their 2,600-kilometre border. Islamabad has been constantly asking the Afghan Taliban to take action against the leadership of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. The strained relations are directly affecting trade between the two countries. Frustrations are thus increasing in the business community on both sides. As an alternative, the Afghan Taliban are exploring the option of diverting the trade to Iran.

Recently, the Pakistani authorities claimed that the mastermind behind the suicide attack on Chinese workers in the Shangla region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was in Afghanistan. Some of his accomplices have been arrested. Pakistan wants to get to the root of the incident by arresting and interrogating the mastermind.

Earlier, in 2021, the mastermind of a similar attack on Chinese workers in Dasu, Tariq Button Kharab, had taken refuge in Afghanistan. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has now asked the Afghan authorities to hand over the mastermind involved in the suicide attack on Chinese workers in Shangla to Pakistan. However, no positive action from the Afghan Taliban in this regard has resulted.

As the summer heats up, Pakistan has witnessed an increase in terrorist attacks. It is difficult to say definitely whether the activity has peaked. Finding shelter after an attack in winter is harder. Most of them live in snow-covered hills along the border. In winter, they have to move to the plains and find shelter sometimes in urban areas. However, in summer they have more alternatives.

This is the reason that June, July and August have been the months when the violence in the region gets more intense.

Terrorist attacks have become more frequent recently in North Waziristan, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan. The law and order situation has deteriorated. Recently a bus was stopped in Dera Ismail Khan and the passengers were forced to disembark. They militants then set fire to the vehicle. Nobody knows for sure who the people were. Interestingly, the governor, the chief minister and the provincial police chief all hail from the same region.

The security forces are engaged in daily operations. Some of their operations have thwarted attacks by the militants. While terrorists are being wiped out in these operations, many soldiers too have sacrificed their lives.

As a result of effective engagement, 29 terrorists have been killed in the past month. During an intelligence based operation on May 14, Maj Babar Khan embraced martyrdom. The security forces are determined to secure the borders and ensure safety of all citizens by eliminating the scourge of terrorism.

“Of late, Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorist incidents orchestrated from Afghan soil, wherein, terrorists from Afghanistan attempt to infiltrate through Pakistan-Afghanistan Border and target Security Forces and the civilians,” the ISPR recently stated.

“In this context, in addition to other areas along Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Security Forces are conducting operations in general area Sambaza in Zhob district of Balochistan, since April 24. As a result of effective engagements, 29 terrorists have been killed in the past month. In an intelligence based operation on May 14, Maj Babar Khan embraced martyrdom. The security forces are determined to secure the borders and ensure safety of all citizens by eliminating the scourge of terrorism.”

“Pakistan has been asking the Afghan government to ensure effective border management on their side. The Taliban are expected to fulfill their obligations and not allow the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for acts of terrorism against Pakistan,” the ISPR stated.

Unfortunately, the provincial and the federal governments are at logger heads. The lack of focus on security issues and governance has resulted in a worsening of the situation. There is also a perception that some of the provincial government leaders prefer negotiations with the militants rather than fighting them.

There have been reports from Afghanistan that the Taliban government plans to use its influence on the Taliban immediately after Eid-ul Azha, urging them to stop attacks against Pakistani interests. In this regard, Afghan Interior Minister Siraj-ud Din Haqqani can play a crucial role. It is pertinent that the fighters who saw United States as the enemy might agree to stop fighting. Some of them might wish to stay in Afghanistan. However, some of the fighters and their leaders believe in ‘total victory.’ A majority of these fighters are from the northern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Some of them have been fighting against Pakistani forces and authorities since before the arrival of American forces in Afghanistan.

These group include the Tehreek-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Muhammadi, led first by Soofi Muhammad and later by Mullah Fazlullah, who also became the head of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. The fighters belonging the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, currently a component of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, are also likely to insist on keeping up the fight. Therefore, even if some leaders of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan stop fighting as a result of the advice from the Afghan Taliban leaders some other factions of the fighters will continue the ‘war’ and might even try to raise the level of violence to establish their ascendency.

The writer is a Peshawar-based journalist, researcher and trainer. He also works for the digital media platform The Khorasan Diary