Pakistan declares war on terrorism with comprehensive military operation

Pakistan intends to launch a military operation against terrorist elements across the country.

A statement by the National Security Council in Pakistan, headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and in the presence of military leaders, after its meeting on Friday, April 7, 2023, said that those present agreed to launch a comprehensive military operation that would end the threat of terrorism in the country and to make recommendations on the details of operations against militants.

The upcoming security operation faces a major challenge in light of the Pakistani Taliban movement’s desire to show the extent of its strength on the ground and the implementation of intense strikes against civilians and military personnel throughout the country.

Political turmoil

Since April 2022, Pakistan has been experiencing a state of political turmoil following the vote of no confidence in former Prime Minister Imran Khan, which led to skirmishes between supporters and opponents of Khan that moved to the street.

The political situation in Pakistan appears to be very unstable in light of Khan’s repeated calls to mobilize the street and announcing his candidacy in the elections expected to be held in October, which comes with resistance from the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) party led by current Prime Minister Sharif, who is the brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Terrorism is rampant

Terrorist elements intensified their armed attacks after the collapse of negotiations between the authorities and the Pakistani Taliban in November 2022. The terrorist movement and its affiliated factions carried out a number of operations, most notably the bombing of a mosque in the city of Peshawar, which led to the death of 100 people.

The year 2014 was the last year in which the authorities launched a comprehensive operation against terrorist elements, which cost billions of dollars and resulted in the displacement of more than a million people and hundreds of deaths.

A study by the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies (ECSS) said that in 2023, Pakistan will witness a scenario of a marked escalation in violence linked to the growth of the Pakistani Taliban, which is taking advantage of the government's preoccupation with confronting political and economic challenges.

The Pakistani Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) reported that the movement carried out more than 20 attacks in the month of December 2022 alone in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the most prominent of which was the movement’s elements detaining a number of policemen in a center affiliated with the Counter Terrorism Department in the Bannu region in the northwest of the country.