Escalating Taliban Attacks Put Pakistan on Crisis Footing

[Valin]

The Signal:

Lisa Curtis

June 11, 2014

 

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is escalating its campaign of violence against the state as tentative peace talks with the government break down and the Pakistani military conducts air strikes against the group’s bases along the Afghan border. The U.S. must support Pakistan in its fight against the TTP, which seeks to overturn the Pakistani government and install a theocratic state similar to that which the Taliban formed in Afghanistan in the 1990s.

 

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The escalation in hostilities between the government and TTP will raise concerns in Washington about the stability of the nuclear armed state. After the brazen attacks, most Pakistanis will likely support aggressive military action against the TTP. Washington should be prepared to support Islamabad in the event it engages in a major military offensive against the militant group.

 

While partnering with Pakistan in Afghanistan has been a challenge due to Islamabad’s unwillingness to crack down on the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani Network, Islamabad and Washington are united against the TTP. The TTP was involved in the 2009 attack against a CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan and the 2010 attempted car bombing in Times Square.

 

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[Valin]

The Shi'ites of Pakistan: A minority under siege
Ahmad K. Majidyar
June 11, 2014

Key points in this Outlook:

• The Pakistani government has failed to protect the country’s Shi’ite minority from unremitting violence by Sunni sectarian militant organizations.
• As American troops prepare to leave Afghanistan, sectarian conflict in Pakistan risks destabilizing the nuclear-armed country and engulfing the surrounding region.
• Pakistani political and military leadership must devise a comprehensive plan that includes reforming the education system, closing religious seminaries that encourage militancy, curbing foreign funding for extremist groups, and promoting interfaith harmony.

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