(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer)
AFTER a relative peace for some years, Tehreek Taliban Pakistan has again become a major security challenge for Pakistan. In recent months, the TTP has mounted several daredevil attacks on Pakistan's security installations. And on January 30, the terror outfit carried out a suicide attack on a mosque in Peshawar, killing 100 people. This, in turn, has also spoiled Pakistan's relations with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, otherwise considered Islamabad's allies.
Pakistan's mounting security challenges have been compounded by its ongoing economic turmoil. The country is on the brink of a default, if not bailed out by the International Monetary Fund which has put its own strict conditions on extending the financial package. In addition to that, the country's current political climate is polarized, with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf, the party of the former prime minister Imran Khan engaged in a nationwide agitation in its bid to press for early elections.
This has created an alarming situation for Islamabad. And the resurgence of the TTP threatens to make things worse. Islamabad's recent dialogue with the TTP which was mediated by Afghan Taliban came to naught as the former refused to budge from its rigid position. There is no hope for a fresh engagement. So, the conflict looks set to continue. And considering the complexities involved, nobody expects a dramatic breakthrough in the near future. The existing situation looks set to continue for a long time before getting any better. But an ongoing effort for the resolution will, in any case, be better than a war of attrition. More so, when the TTP insurgency is only one part of the larger and layered security nightmare that is Af-Pak region. The scenario for the immediate future looks bleak.
The region has already undergone a profound geo-political transformation following US exit from Afghanistan in 2021. This situation has some unsettling dimensions and unless the countries of the region especially India and Pakistan, come together and jointly address the problems that have arisen post US withdrawal, the new forces and factors which are likely to be unleashed could detrimentally impact the region.
But the South Asian region today is more divided than ever. India and Pakistan have not been on talking terms over the last decade. And as things stand, it is unlikely that the two countries will resume engagement in the near term. More so, with both countries looking forward to hold their respective elections over the next one and a half year. Pakistan, in turn, will have to readjust its decades long policies to tide over its internal problems.
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