Caught Between Borders – OpEd
The summer of 2025 has been brutal for Pakistan. From the rugged mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to the deserts of Balochistan, ordinary families have been forced to live under the shadow of escalating violence.
Parents hesitate to send children to school in Bajaur; traders in Quetta fear investing in shops and transport routes; in villages near the Afghan border, residents whisper about new militant camps just across the frontier. The statistics are stark: terrorist incidents have risen by more than 50 percent this year compared with 2024. But behind the numbers lies a deeper story of how regional sanctuaries, foreign financing, and cynical propaganda are tearing at Pakistan’s social fabric.
At the center of this surge are the long-running safe havens across the Afghan border. Provinces like Nuristan, Kunar, Nangarhar, and Paktiya continue to provide militants with space to plan, train, and stockpile weapons. In the last two months alone, intelligence reports show more than 20 dozen militant formations crossing into KP, and nearly 7 dozen into Balochistan over 1,000 fighters in total, many traveling through Namruz. Once inside Pakistan, they embed themselves within villages, using women and children as shields when confronted by security forces. For local communities, this means that military operations against militants often unfold in the very streets where they live. Recent clashes in Bannu and Laki Marwat underline the scale of infiltration and its human toll.
The human impact is felt most sharply in KP. July 2025 saw over 50 separate incidents in the province, concentrated in Bajaur, Orakzai, and Mohmand. But militants are also deliberately moving into places like Dir, Chitral, and Swat areas that had once been symbols of recovery and normalcy after years of conflict. For families there, the return of militant presence is a shattering reminder of the fragility of peace. Schools once rebuilt now face closures, and tourism routes that had just reopened are again threatened. Earlier this summer, a suicide attack in Mir Ali, North Waziristan killed dozens, including women and children caught in the blast zone.
Balochistan, too, faces its own version of the crisis. Here, militants pursue a dual strategy: ethnic targeting of civilians to inflame communal divisions, and attacks on economic projects to frighten away investors. The aim is not just violence for its own sake, but the deliberate underdevelopment of the province. By keeping Balochistan poor, militant leaders hope to sustain their narrative of deprivation and fuel recruitment. For local shopkeepers, truck drivers, and students, this means their aspirations are being held hostage by a strategy designed to block progress. The Khuzdar school bus bombing in May, which killed and injured dozens of children, illustrates both the brutality of these groups and their disregard for civilian life.
Equally troubling is the way violence is paired with propaganda. After each attack, proxy groups such as the so-called Baloch Youth Council (BYC) organize protests, reviving the narrative of “missing persons.” Yet evidence has shown that many of those labeled missing have resurfaced as suicide bombers. Liaqat, who carried out an attack in Landi Kotal, and Wadood Satakzai, who took part in the Mach bombing, are two chilling examples. Still, the BYC protests blur the line between genuine grievance and militant cover, often giving political shelter to extremists. Abroad, foreign-based activists amplify these narratives, shaping international perception while ignoring the violence faced by ordinary Pakistanis. The US government’s designation of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in August underscores international recognition that these groups rely on external support to operate.
What makes 2025 especially dangerous is not just the scale of infiltration but the ability of these groups to replenish themselves. They prey on tribal disputes, local grievances, and youthful disillusionment to draw in new recruits. Since June, tactical strikes have multiplied, suggesting that militant cadres remain operationally strong despite state crackdowns.
The contrast with last year could not be clearer. While 2024 saw scattered incidents, 2025 has witnessed coordinated, large-scale infiltration and a sharp rise in attacks. A recent UN report underscored this pattern, noting that certain militant leaders are not only shielded underground but even financially supported, with documented payments of $43,000 from Taliban networks. Such revelations underscore that these are not freedom movements but groups openly hostile to their own people, indifferent to human suffering, and opposed to Pakistan’s future.
For Pakistan, the implications are profound. The resurgence of militancy threatens not only the immediate safety of its citizens but also the promise of economic growth in regions critical to its development. Projects in Balochistan, particularly in energy and minerals, are meant to lift local communities out of poverty; attacks on them keep entire populations trapped. In KP, the return of fear undermines years of hard-won recovery. Most dangerously, the nexus of Afghan sanctuaries, foreign financing, and domestic proxies risks reigniting a cycle of instability that could take years to contain.
Breaking this cycle will require more than military operations. It demands regional diplomacy that compels Afghanistan to dismantle militant sanctuaries, stronger measures to cut off foreign funding, and a determined effort to protect economic projects from sabotage.
The fight unfolding in KP and Balochistan is not just about borders or ideology, it is about the daily lives of millions of Pakistanis who want nothing more than safety and opportunity. As militants spread across provinces, exploit propaganda, and weaponize poverty, Pakistan faces a decisive test. Its response must be firm, comprehensive, and humane. The stakes are nothing less than the country’s unity, stability, and future.
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