Pakistan’s tryst with terrorism: How Islamabad cries victim of its own creation

In a recent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) briefing on February 10, 2025, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative emphasised the need to address the root causes of terrorism, citing factors such as poverty, injustice, prolonged unresolved conflicts, foreign occupation, and the denial of the right to self-determination for people under colonial and foreign domination as the reasons. He specifically referenced the occupied territories of Palestine and Jammu and Kashmir as examples. It is the first time that Pakistan, which has used terrorism as a state policy, has tried to legitimise terrorism on a global platform.

While Pakistan has been crying victim to terrorism on its home soil of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa majorly, a critical examination reveals that the nation’s internal security challenges are significantly influenced by its own policies and its own failure to address the same factors as its recent attribution of terrorism to external factors.

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Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area, has been a hotspot for insurgency for decades. The Baloch people have long alleged economic exploitation, political marginalisation, and human rights abuses by the Pakistani establishment. These grievances have fuelled a persistent separatist movement seeking greater autonomy or outright independence, which has been brutally suppressed by the Pakistani state for decades, fostering significant local hostility and fuelling insurgency against the state.

The insurgency in Balochistan has intensified in recent years. The people of Balochistan have been up in arms against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, as they accuse Pakistan of handing over unbridled rights to land and resources of Balochistan to neighbouring China, thus severely marginalising and disempowering the common people.

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In response to these grievances, Baloch insurgents have increasingly found common cause with other insurgent groups opposing the Pakistani state. They have forged an alliance with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a Pashtun-dominated militant organisation. Both groups perceive the Pakistani state as a common adversary and have allegedly coordinated attacks, at least in terms of timing, to challenge state authority. This collaboration amplifies the security challenges faced by Pakistan as it confronts a more unified insurgent front within its borders.

The resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2021 had significant implications for Pakistan’s internal security. Initially, Pakistani leadership viewed the Taliban’s return as a strategic advantage. However, this perception proved misguided as militant groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) found safe havens across the border, leading to a surge in cross-border attacks. In 2024, Pakistan experienced over 2,500 deaths due to terror attacks, many orchestrated by groups based in Afghanistan. This escalation prompted Pakistani military leaders to urge the Afghan Taliban to curb cross-border militancy.

In reality, the Pakistani establishment realised that their strategy of riding onto the back of the Taliban to achieve strategic depth in Afghanistan has, in turn, led to their strategic death, as the Taliban, after dumping them, turned severely hostile towards them as soon as they consolidated power in Afghanistan.

The Durand Line, the 2,640-kilometre border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, has been a contentious issue since its demarcation in 1893. The Afghans have traditionally rejected the Durand Line and have always challenged the divide. This disputed border has contributed to instability in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) regions.

Pakistan’s longstanding policy of employing militant proxies to achieve strategic objectives against its neighbours has inadvertently cultivated a domestic landscape rife with terrorism and insurgency. This approach, intended to destabilise neighbouring regions, has backfired, leading to severe internal security challenges that Pakistan now struggles to contain.

For decades, Pakistan has been involved in nurturing and supporting various terror groups to exert influence in Afghanistan and fostering terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab to counter India’s presence in the region. Using terrorism as state policy, while aimed at projecting power beyond its borders, has sown the seeds of extremism within Pakistan itself. The very groups once considered strategic assets have turned inward, challenging the state’s authority and contributing to a cycle of violence and instability.

In an attempt to deflect attention from its internal issues, Pakistan has often drawn parallels between its conflicts and external disputes. A notable instance is the ceasefire declared in the year 2021 along the Line of Control (LoC) with India under then COAS Lt General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s tenure. This move was portrayed as a step towards regional peace, with the implicit suggestion that resolving tensions with India would quell the insurgency in Balochistan. However, this narrative in itself is deeply misleading.

The unrest in Balochistan is primarily rooted in long standing grievances of political marginalisation, economic exploitation, and human rights abuses of the Baloch populace. The insurgency has been further complicated by the involvement of external actors, mainly China and the United States. Reports indicate that Baloch separatist groups have received support from elements within Afghanistan, particularly after the Taliban’s resurgence in 2021. This alliance has emboldened insurgents, leading to intensified attacks within Pakistan.

Pakistan’s internal security dilemma is further exacerbated by its hesitance to confront the terror groups that share ideological ties with factions it has historically supported. The Afghan Taliban’s ascendancy has had a dual impact on Pakistan’s internal security. While it has disrupted some anti-Pakistan elements, it has also emboldened groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The TTP, sharing ideological roots with the Afghan Taliban, has intensified its activities within Pakistan, leading to a surge in attacks against security forces and civilians.

This situation underscores the paradox of Pakistan’s policy of supporting certain terror factions and has inadvertently strengthened others that pose a direct threat to its own stability. Pakistan’s much-touted global narrative of the good Taliban and the bad Taliban has spectacularly failed as it now grimly realises that there is nothing good about the Taliban when it comes to Pakistan.

To divert attention from its internal failings, Pakistan has consistently portrayed India as the primary antagonist responsible for its security woes. This narrative is spun to serve multiple purposes. It unites domestic opinion against a common external enemy, provides justification for the state’s heavy-handed policies against people demanding better accountability, and seeks to elicit international sympathy and support.

However, this strategy has significant drawbacks. By externalising blame, Pakistan overlooks the internal policy failures and systemic issues that have fostered extremism and insurgency. Moreover, this deflection hampers genuine efforts to address the root causes of unrest, such as political disenfranchisement, economic disparities, and social injustices.

Pakistan’s attempts to attribute its internal security challenges to external actors, particularly India, have also been aimed at influencing major global players like the United States and China. By presenting itself as a victim of external aggression, Pakistan seeks to garner diplomatic and economic support.

However, this approach has in turn eroded its credibility on the international stage. The global community is increasingly aware of the complex interplay of internal dynamics contributing to Pakistan’s security challenges. A narrative that solely blames external factors without acknowledging domestic policy shortcomings is viewed with scepticism, potentially undermining Pakistan’s standing and its ability to secure meaningful international assistance.

Pakistan’s internal turmoil is a consequence of its own strategic choices. The policy of leveraging terror proxies for regional influence has backfired, leading to a proliferation of extremist elements within its borders. Attempts to deflect responsibility by blaming external actors, particularly India, are a poor attempt to not only mislead the international community but also to impede the necessary introspection and policy reforms required to address the root causes of its own domestic unrest, which has left Pakistan largely fractured within.

Raja Muneeb is an independent journalist and a columnist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.