Bajaur Attack and Pakistan’s Resilience in Counterterrorism
Bajaur mountains have once more been impregnated with sounds of war. At the border near Afghanistan, a Pakistani army convoy was attacked on August 20, an attack quickly claimed by the so called Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP). Although the group claimed the incident as a large victory, only one soldier died (martyrdom), and Pakistan forces carried out a resounding defeat of the attack. However, that alone, notwithstanding the clash, is a brutal reminder. Notably, Pakistan remains a victim of terrorism exported by Afghanistan.
This was not the only eruption of violence. Instead, it will fall into a pattern that ISKP has always followed which is conducting such deadly spectacles in Pakistan and finding strength in sanctuaries in Afghanistan. The Mastung suicide bombing that has targeted political meetings and the Peshawar Mosque attack present in allegiance is a consistent pattern of atrocities by ISKP. Without popular backing in Pakistan, the organization utilizes ungoverned areas in Afghanistan to sustain attacks across the two borders, to remain relevant.
What present-day Pakistan is facing in addition to ISKP is not only the backlash of the recent past, but also the implications of the future power struggle. The greater issue arises within a combination of International Terrorist Organizations (ITOs), such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which proliferate in permissive external environment beyond Pakistan government control. These organizations reorganize, strategize and launch operatives into parts of a porous border, and at the same time weaponize the truth to distort their effectiveness.
The example of Bajaur attack demonstrates exactly this trend that ISKP overstated its message of success, though in fact it exposed its strategic failure.
As a matter of fact, the exemplary suppression of the Bajaur attack highlighted the strength of the Pakistan armed force. The ambush had foreign potential to be devastating but due to precision skills the ambush mission was neutralized, thus protecting the convoy and a wider casualty inflicted. This capability of quickly absorbing and repelling asymmetric warfare is based on the experience that was accumulated during the years of counterterrorism operations. Successful campaigns like Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad broken infrastructures of terrorists within FATA. Moreover, Balochistan showed the Pakistan’s ability, along with the will, to trace out such threats.
The fact that ISKP resorts to the form of violence that is lopsided is rather indicative. The team does not have the numbers, the material resources or legitimacy to maintain a sustenance of a territory within the borders of Pakistan. Rather, it relies upon highly publicized attacks at random that promote terror and fear headlines. With each of these attempts, it reminds itself of its desperation, a move from unstructured campaigns to symbolic strikes, and in many cases are exaggerated to have a psychological impact. Significantly, it would be able to maintain the violence only within Pakistan only at a marginal level without Afghan havens.
Central to this process is one disturbing truth in the region. The ungoverned areas in Afghanistan remain a breeding ground to terror activities. This poses an external and internal security dilemma to Pakistan. In the external environment, cross-border infiltration is an unending difficulty. At the domestic level, Pakistan needs to provide protection to its people and security forces against such imported dangers. The Bajaur attack is a small microcosm of a much larger struggle, with Pakistan trying to maintain its integrity against forces that thrive in the power vacuum created by non-state actors across the border.
But the will of Pakistan is not broken. Years and years of sacrifice of the soldiers, policemen, and of the civilians have made a nation resilient to terrorism. Likewise, the Bajaur case instead of showing the rebound shows the extent of power of ISKP. Every unsuccessful trial to attack Pakistan only strengthens the ability of this nation to break through.
The way ahead is plain to see in case of Pakistan. As in the past, where operations purged former lawless areas of militant networks, today we must be vigilant, nimble and supportive. Terrorism across the borders cannot and will not be allowed to interfere with the advancements that Pakistan has achieved. The martyrs of the nation not only remind the nation of the price of security, but they are used as a source of national pride.
The Bajaur attack will be remembered not as a turning point for ISKP, but as evidence of its decline. Its exaggerated claims stand in stark contrast to the reality of Pakistan’s preparedness. In the long arc of this struggle, it is not ISKP’s violence that will define the narrative, but Pakistan’s steadfast refusal to be destabilized.
As the dust flies over Bajaur, tumultuous land, there is only one fact to it: Pakistan is not backing off. It is also on the way forward with the aim of ending all terrorist havens both inside and outside its borders.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this article are exclusively those of the author and do not reflect the official stance, policies, or perspectives of the Platform.
