After America and NATO allies announced that they will pull out their troops from Afghanistan, there was a notable increase in militant activity in Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the newly merged tribal districts. With the recent merger of the Hizbul-Ahrar and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar with the larger Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, where do we stand in terms of protecting our citizens from the kind of violent extremism and militancy experienced seven years ago?
On the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, voicepk.net talks to senior Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader and Member of the National Mohsin Dawar on the current security situation of Pakistan, the way forward and the federal government’s response to the rising threat of terrorist activity.
“I have repeatedly brought up the issue of rising militancy in Waziristan on the floor of the National Assembly and in press conferences, but I have always been shut down,” he said, exasperated by Parliament’s apparent apathy toward the concerns of many residing in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa experiencing increased incidents of violence. “If terrorists manage to gain a foothold, it will become impossible to roll back things.”