From Operation Rah-e- Nijat to Operation Sar Bakaf: Pakistan's Futile Operations Against Terrorists and Separatists

By New Age Islam Staff Writer 18 August 2025 1. Operation Sar bakaf has been launched against TTP. 2. 60,000 have been displaced in Bajaur. 3. Operation Rah-e-Nijat was launched against TTP in 2009. 4. Operation Zarb-e-Azab was launched against TTP in 2014. 5. Operation Azm-e-Istehkam was launched against the same TTP in June 2024. ----- Pakistan adopted the policy of harbouring, funding and training terrorist organisations in the 80s and using them as a foreign policy tool calling it 'strategic depth'. As a part of this policy, it patronised Taliban jointly with the US and the US channelised billions of dollars of funds to Taliban via Pakistan under the guise of funding the war on terror. Eventually, the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan first in 1996 and finally in 202. While leaving Afghanistan, the US left 7 billion worth of weapons in Taliban controlled areas to facilitate its dominance over Ashraf Ghani government. When Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan thought that it had virtually captured Kabul as the ascent of Taliban in Afghanistan was a victory of their policy of using Taliban and other terrorist and militant organisations as a tool for 'strategic depth'. But soon after that Pakistan gradually realised that the same Taliban and other militant organisations have turned into demons they cannot control or eliminate. On the contrary, they are posing a grave threat to its unity. Now Pakistan alleges that Afghan Taliban has been supporting the Pakistani Taliban or TTP as it has unleashed a reign of terror in Pakistan. It has carried out thousands of terrorist attacks in Pakistan killing thousands of civilians, security personnel and religious personalities in the last two decades. To curb the growing strength of the TTP and other terrorist outfits, Pakistan launched a number of full-fledged and limited operations against terrorists and insurgents but all its exercises proved futile because of its flawed policy and the lack of political will. During all the operations, hundreds of innocent civilians were killed in the cross fire and thousands of civilians were internally displaced. After every operation, the terrorists resurfaced and regrew and presented a greater challenge to the government. The Pak army launched Operation Rah-e-Nijat (Pathway to Salvation) against the Pakistan Taliban or the TTP in 2009 in the tribal areas of South Waziristan and the then FATA. The operation resulted in the internal displacement of about 80,000 civilians and damage to hundreds of residential buildings. The operation did not provide long term solution to terrorism and insurgency as TTP resurfaced with the help of Afghan Taliban. Five years later, in 2014, the Pak army had to launch a full fledged operation called Operation Zarb-e-Azb against the same TTP they claimed to have obliterated in 2009. The Operation resulted in the internal displacement of about 9 lakh civilians and damage to hundreds of homes. After the operation, the Pak government claimed to have broken the backbone of the terrorist organisations but the truth was that the terrorists had only crossed into Afghanistan only to return during the government of Imran Khan's party. In 2024, the Pak government launched Operation Azm-e-Istehkam against the TTP or the Pakistani Taliban and its allies and affiliates. It was a limited exercise with no considerable success. Now, the Pak army has started another sham exercise against the TTP in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It was launched on 11 August 2025 and will end on 21st August 2025. The objective of this limited operation is said to be the elimination of the TTP but the security forces have not been able to wield a decisive and crippling blow to the terrorist organisation. There has been collateral damage. In fact, the security forces have incurred greater loss and damage. The army has claimed to have killed hundreds of terrorists but the people allege that civilians are being killed in firing and shelling. People in the tribal area have opposed the operation on this ground. 60 thousand people have already been internally displaced and have been taking shelter in schools, government buildings and the sports stadium where they are not getting sufficient help from the district authorities. The army has reportedly used modern Chinese helicopters and tanks to shell and bomb residential areas killing more civilians than terrorists. The ground reality is that the state of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is ruled by the TTP, a fact acknowledged by many local politicians and bureaucrats. Government officials and security forces do not come out after the nightfall. The TTP members even remain present in local police stations. The new development was that many Afghan nationals had joined the TTP and according to the sources, 40,000 TTP fighters have sneaked into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Afghanistan and are equipped with latest sophisticated weapons. The inclusion of Afghan nationals in TTP has added to the challenge posed by the TTP and suggests a more sinister plan of the Afghan Taliban to annexe parts of tribal areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan. Apparently, this development prompted the Pak government to launch Operation Sar Bakaf but the half hearted approach to such a serious threat raises more questions than offers answers. According to the government reports, 80 per cent of the TTP members in the KP are Afghan nationals. The Pak army and security forces is dealing with this threat with a limited operation because it has lost the will and lacks resources to fight a decisive battle against Afghan Taliban backed TTP fighters. Ironically, the Pakistan government calls the TTP the Fitanatul Khwarij (Kharijites or outcastes) whom it glorified as Mujahideen ( holy warriors). It had categorised Taliban into Good Taliban and Bad Taliban). The TTP launched 39 attacks on the security forces on 13 and 14 August and killed 11 police personnel. This way they wielded a bloody blow on the Pakistani government on its independence day. It is obvious that the latest operation against the TTP will also be a failure. Pak government 's only hope lies in the expected help from China. A tripartite meeting of the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Afghanistan and China will be held in Kabul on 20th August and on 21st August, the Chinese foreign minister will visit Islamabad. The limited operation in Bajaur was therefore launched only to highlight the issue on the eve of the tripartite meeting. As China is only concerned with the expansion of CPEC to Afghanistan, it may not provide any concrete solution to the Afghanistan backed terrorism in KP at the cost of its trade and strategic interests in Afghanistan. Therefore, Pakistan will have to suffer the consequences of harbouring and nurturing terrorists on its soil. No high sounding rhetoric in the naming of operations will work. As the adage goes, you can't have your cake and eat it too. 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