Military confrontation: Islamabad's last option to stop advance of Pakistani Taliban

Military confrontation has become Islamabad's last option to confront the threat of violence from the Pakistani Taliban movement, at a time when the Pakistani government is considering negotiating with the ruling Afghan Taliban to contain the violence associated with the Pakistani movement in the tribal areas, especially after the movement recently kidnapped and detained police officers at the Counter Terrorism Center in the northwest of the country.

At a time when Pakistan is considering negotiating with the Afghan Taliban movement to contain the violence associated with its counterpart in Pakistan, military options are not completely ruled out, as Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto expressed his willingness to hold talks with the Taliban in Kabul regarding the Pakistani movement’s activities. However, he added that this is not the only option available to deal with the current situation.

The Pakistani foreign minister's statement came immediately after talks with US officials in Washington, while observers believe that Bhutto indirectly referred to the possibility of using military options against the Pakistani Taliban movement.

Bhutto's assertion in Washington that his preferred method for dealing with the threat of the Pakistani Taliban is negotiation and cooperation with the Afghan Taliban is important, as this means that Washington is ready to accept the Taliban in Kabul, although not ready to deal with it directly.

He stressed that cooperation with the Afghan Taliban is not the only way to deal with the threat of the Pakistani Taliban, which likely indicates that other options have also been discussed in the Pak-US talks on Afghanistan.

The Pakistani Taliban have stepped up attacks on Pakistani security forces since last month, when they unilaterally ended a month-long ceasefire with the Pakistani government. The violence has strained relations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban, which brokered a ceasefire in May.

The Pakistani Taliban have waged an insurgency in Pakistan for the past 15 years, fighting for a stricter implementation of Islamic law in the country, the release of its members detained by the government, and a reduction of the Pakistani military presence in the country's former tribal areas.