Pakistan announced the launch of the Azm-i-Istehkam (Resolve for Stability) operation in June 2024 to eradicate terrorism, the 12th such military operation since 2007. The federal government has advanced this to address the backlash of nurturing and facilitating violent extremism and terrorism across its borders for decades.

Pakistan’s confrontation with terrorist threats has surged over the years, with 2023 proving to be the deadliest year, mainly for military and police personnel. The suicide bombing attack at a mosque inside the Peshawar Cantonment area in January 2023 killed approximately 100 and injured no less than 150 devotees. Within six months, it experienced another fatal attack when Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl’s (JUI-F) political rally was targeted in July, killing over 50 attendees and wounding more than 200.

As per the Global Terrorism Index Report 2024, Pakistan ranks as the fourth country most affected by terrorism-related activities, moving up from its previously held seventh rank. A report by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies in January 2024 noted that 17,785 terror-related events have resulted in 72,203 casualties since 2006.11

Pakistan has charged the Afghan Taliban for allegedly harbouring TTP fighters and allowing Afghanistan to be used as a launch-pad to undermine its national security. Against this backdrop, Baloch insurgents have also scaled up their attacks, with TTP inflicting maximum damage and casualties mainly in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

What seems to have inevitably pushed Pakistan’s federal government to re-evaluate its counter-terror strategy was the intensifying pressure imposed after Shahbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Asif Munir visited China in June 2024. While Chinese personnel have been targeted by Baloch insurgents and TTP operatives for the last several years, in the lead-up to this visit, at least three terror attacks occurred, including the March 2024 suicide bombing that killed five Chinese engineers and one Pakistani in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

During this five-day visit, President Xi Jinping reportedly underscored the need for Pakistan to safeguard Chinese citizens stationed to work on the US$ 62 billion China–Pakistan Economic Corridor project and ‘provide a safe, stable, and predictable business environment’.22 Public outrage was also expressed by Chinese officials such as Liu Jianchao (Head of the International Department of the CCP) when he stated that “in Pakistan’s case, the primary factor shaking the confidence of Chinese investors is the security situation”.33 Beijing apparently issued an ultimatum threatening to deploy around 1,200 personnel44 to safeguard its interests in Pakistan.

Islamabad’s announcement could be an effort to bide time and prevent further Chinese interference at the risk of providing an excuse to the jihadi entities at home to exploit its acquiescence to Chinese demands as another example of it being un-Islamic. It could also be seeking to deny further momentum to Baloch groups who have demonstrated growing hostility to Beijing’s expanding influence in Gwadar.

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