Monitoring Desk: Unofficial data show a 51% increase in terrorist violence between August 15, 2021, and August 14, 2022, in Pakistan.
According to a special report titled “WHAT’S WRONG WITH OUR COUNTER-TTP APPROACH?” published by Express Tribune and written by world-renowned investigative journalist Naveed Hussain, the Taliban regime remained non-committal on a crackdown on the Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Pakistan was advised by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interim interior minister of Afghanistan to lock a peace deal with TTP. Pakistan accepted the advice and former Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed, the then corps commander Peshawar, oversaw the negotiations. It was a bad idea to have direct talks with the TTP because a state actor was obliged to sit across the table with a non-state armed group, lending it legitimacy. Months of behind-the-scenes negotiations hosted by Haqqani pulled a breakthrough in June 2021 and the state of Pakistan accepted demands of TTP that could be consider unacceptable by any same element.
The report while citing date produced by Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies indicates that at least 433 people were killed and 719 injured in 250 attacks across Pakistan till former Lt Gen Faiz Hameed initiated dialogue with TTP. The report furthered 165 attacks killed 294 people and injured 598 from August 2020 to August 14, 2021.
