Selective Counterterrorism in Pakistan / ISN
Starting in May 2009, the Pakistani army launched a series of offensives against radical Islamist groups in the Swat and South Waziristan regions. More than 6,500 alleged Taliban fighters have been killed since then, and approximately 1,400 Pakistani civilians have died in terrorist attacks.
The international community has applauded the Pakistani army’s decision to take on the Taliban, overlooking the fact that the army’s counterterrorist strategy is highly selective. It only targets Taliban splinter groups that have an explicitly anti-Islamabad agenda and offers other radical Islamists the option of peaceful coexistence.
Such a segmented approach will not advance the objectives of international counterterrorist efforts, except in an indirect sense. Furthermore, implementation of this strategy has thus far failed even to protect Pakistan, due to systemic flaws in counterterrorism capabilities.
