Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)

It’s hard to imagine that cross-border airstrikes will serve the desired goal of ending the rising level of violence and lawlessness in the areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan. 

The region has a decades-long history of sectarian violence, exacerbated by land disputes and proxy warfare.

By sending its top army official to Pakistan on the anniversary of a prominent separatist leader's death, China risks inadvertently fanning the flames of anti-China resentment in Balochistan.

Pakistan's peripheral regions – like Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – are highly strategic locations. They are also home to ethnic minorities who feel increasingly marginalized by the center.

The announcement of Pakistan’s new military operation, Azm-e-Istehkam, has sent shockwaves across the Pashtun region in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has suffered tremendously amid past operations.

The counterterrorism campaign is loud on rhetoric, low on substance and offers nothing substantive to stem the rising tide of militancy in Pakistan.

A new wave of militancy threatens the next phase of CPEC – and potentially the China-Pakistan relationship.

A spokesperson for Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense said, “Blaming Afghanistan for such incidents is a failed attempt to divert attention from the truth of the matter and we strongly reject it.”

One reason driving Islamabad’s renewed efforts in Afghanistan may be India’s continuing moves to expand its dealings with the Taliban.

Even while expanding cooperation into other areas, Pakistan is keen on reviving the traditional security focus, especially in the face of the TTP threat.

Islamabad wants Kabul to take actual action against the TTP, and is using Afghan refugees as a bargaining chip.