Description: More than 22 militants pertaining to the terrorist organization of the Pakistani Taliban were eliminated in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province by the Pakistani military in cooperation with the ISI, Pakistan’s external intelligence service. The TTP has severely increased its activities once the cross – border conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan reignited late last year with consistent attacks in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. Inter – services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, has stated that large caches of weapons and munitions were seized after the armed confrontations that bore the hallmark of being sponsored by India. Pakistan has consistently accused Afghanistan of harboring terrorist groups on its soil with India’s financial backing.
Impact: Pakistan’s internal security landscape would likely further deteriorate in the upcoming period as the country is facing a multi – vectored security threat from militants and terrorist while struggling to contain confrontation with the Afghan Taliban in its cross – border conflict. Within the past months, separatists from Balochistan’s Liberation Army (BLA), the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and the Afghan Taliban have consistently increased attacks across the Durand line and the contested provinces which likely indicates that these risks to Pakistan’s internal stability would remain in the long – term. China’s mediation efforts between Afghanistan and Pakistan have likely managed to supplant the crisis with a temporary truce, while renewed confrontation in the short to mid -term period is likely, considering the constant probes by militant and separatist groups of Pakistan’s defensive resolve.