Pakistan recently witnessed a suicide bombing at a mosque in a highly fortified police compound in Peshawar, Pakistan.
The Jan. 30 Peshawar bombing occurred when Pakistan is already dealing with daunting challenges such as domestic political tensions, a cost-of-living crisis, and a renewed insurgency.
The bombing was the deadliest in the country in several years and is believed to be in retaliation for the police force’s role in Pakistan’s battle against a resurgent insurgency since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif vowed to mobilize all resources to eliminate the militants, but analysts say political disunity and ideological confusion have provided space for militants to regroup and target the state.
The situation is complicated by the fact that the Pskistan Taliban has distanced itself from the Peshawar bombing, claiming that it does not target mosques.
The attack highlights the difficult security choices that Pakistan must face. According to Mosharraf Zaidi, a Pakistani security analyst, the country needs to come out of its confusion, end its appeasement of militants through peace talks, and go all-out against them to achieve permanent peace.
The government must formulate a decisive strategy to eliminate the terrorists and crush their ideological infrastructure and supply chain to break their backbone.
