Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

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Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Part of The Global War on Terrorism and the
spillover of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
NWFP FATA.svg
Intelligence map: Navy intelligence maps shows the districts of the FATA in blue and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in green.
Date16 March 2004 – present
(19 years, 10 months, 2 weeks and 3 days)
Location
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (including the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas), Pakistan
Status

Ongoing

Belligerents
 Pakistan
 United States (see drone strikes in Pakistan)

Taliban-aligned groups

Template:Country data ISIL ISIL-aligned groups

Commanders and leaders
Pakistan Pervez Musharraf
Pakistan Ashfaq Kayani
Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari
Pakistan Nawaz Sharif
Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain
Pakistan Arif Alvi
Pakistan Raheel Sharif
Pakistan Qamar Javed Bajwa
Pakistan Imran Khan
Pakistan Masood Aslam
Pakistan Tariq Khan
Pakistan Rao Qamar Suleman
Pakistan Tahir Rafique Butt
Pakistan Sanaullah Niazi 

Noor Wali Mehsud
Maulana Fazlullah 
Khan Said 'Sajna' 
Adnan Rashid
Mangal Bagh 
Hakimullah Mehsud 
Abdullah Mehsud 
Baitullah Mehsud 
Maulvi Nazir 
Faqir MohammedTemplate:POW[10]
Nek Muhammad Wazir 
Abdul Rashid Ghazi 
Sufi Muhammad Template:POW[11]
al-Qaeda
Ayman al-Zawahiri 
Osama bin Laden 
Ilyas Kashmiri 
Mohammad Hasan Khalil al-Hakim 
Atiyah Abd al-Rahman 
Abu Laith al-Libi 
Abu Yahya al-Libi 
Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti 
Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam 
Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan 
Sheikh Fateh [12]
Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah [13]


Template:Country data Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISIL
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 
Hafiz Saeed Khan [14]
Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost (2014–2015)[15][16]
Usman Ghazi [3][17]

Template:Country data Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant IMU Group
Usman Ghazi 
Tohir Yuldashev 
Najmiddin Jalolov 
Abu Usman Adil 
Mirzazhanov AtoyevichTemplate:WIA
Strength

Pakistan
200,000 Pakistani troops[18][19]
Unknown no. of air squadrons of Navy and Pakistan Air Force fighter jets, including JF-17 and F-16 jets[20]
~10,000 Frontier Corps


United States
UAV drones
CIA operatives
U.S. Special Forces[21]

~25,000 TTP militia[22]
~2,000 Lashkar-e-Islam militia[23]
~1,000 TNSM militia[24]
300–3,000 al-Qaeda militants[25]


Template:Country data ISIL

Casualties and losses

Pakistan:
4,631 soldiers and LEAs killed (per SATP)[6][7]
8,214 killed soldiers and LEAs and 14,583 wounded (per the Watson Institute; by mid-2016)[27]


United States:
15 soldiers killed (2010)[28]
29,398 militants killed (per SATP)[6][7]
31,000 killed (per the Watson Institute; by mid-2016)[27]

9,394 civilians and 1,946 unidentified killed (per SATP)[6][7]
22,100 civilians killed (per the Watson Institute; by mid-2016)[27]
45,369 killed overall (per SATP)[6][7]
61,549 killed overall (per the Watson Institute; by mid-2016)[27]
41,819 killed overall all over Pakistan (Uppsala Conflict Data Program; 1989–2019)[29]


Over 3.44 million civilians displaced (2009)[30]

Over 6 million civilians displaced (2003–2019)[31]

The insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also known as the War in North-West Pakistan or Pakistan's war on terror, is an ongoing armed conflict involving Pakistan and Islamist militant groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jundallah, Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI), TNSM, al-Qaeda, and their Central Asian allies such as the ISIL–Khorasan (ISIL), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, East Turkistan Movement, Emirate of Caucasus, and elements of organized crime. Formerly a war, it is now a low-level insurgency as of 2017.

The armed conflict began in 2004 when tensions rooted in the Pakistan Army's Hunt for al-Qaeda fighters in Pakistan's mountainous Waziristan area (in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas) soared and escalated into armed Resistance in the form of a organization.[32] Pakistan's actions were presented as its contribution to the U.S. War on terror.[33] Clashes further erupted between unified Pakistan Armed Forces and the Central Asian militant groups,[34] allied with the Arab fighters, in 2008–2010.[35][36] The foreign militants were joined by Pakistani non-military veterans of the Afghan War to the west, which subsequently established the TTP and other militant umbrella organisations, such as Lashkar-e-Islam.

The war depleted the country's manpower resources, and the outcomes outlined a deep effect on its national economy, since Pakistan had joined the American-led War on Terror.[37] As of 2018, according to Ministry of Finance (MoF) statistics and mathematical data survey collections, the economy has suffered direct and indirect losses as high as $126.79 billion since 2001 because of Pakistan's role as a "frontline state". According to the MoF-issued Pakistan Economic Survey 2010–2011, "Pakistan has never witnessed such a Catastrophic social and economic upheaval in its industry, even after dismemberment of the country by a direct war with India in 1971."[38]

After the Pakistani military launched a Extensive offensive against the Pakistani Taliban in 2014, its leaders escaped to Afghanistan.[39] By 2014, the casualty rates from terrorism in the country as a whole dropped by 40% as compared to 2011–2013, with even greater drops noted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,[40] despite a large massacre of schoolchildren by TTP terrorists in the province in December 2014. The reduction in hostilities eventually changed the conflict from a war to a relatively low-level conflict.[41]

After negotiations, the Tehreek-e-Taliban and the government announced a ceasefire in June 2022. However, on November 2022, the Tehreek-e-Taliban repudiated the ceasefire and called for nationwide terrorist attacks against Pakistan.[42]

Names and Title"s for the war[edit]

Various names have been applied to the conflict by the authors and historians. Names used in English include: Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, War in North-West Pakistan, Waziristan War, or the Pakistan's war on terror. On the other hand, political scientist, Farrukh Saleem, termed the war as the "Fourth Generation War" or the "4G War".[43]

Background[edit]

At the request of the Pakistani government, the Pakistan Army started an official troop deployment in the wake of the Battle of Tora Bora, also known as the Black Caves, in 2002.The Pakistan Muslim League,[44] one of the conservative parties, was particularly critical of the troop deployments in the area. For the first time since Pakistan gained independence in 1947,[45] the XI Corps, led by Lieutenant-General Jan Aurkzai, entered the Tirah Valley in the Khyber Agency. Afterwards, the army forces advanced into North Waziristan's Shawal Valley before reaching South Waziristan.[46] The Special Service Group [Navy] constructed a surveillance reconnaissance facility in 2003.[47] A sizable communist party in Peshawar began criticizing Musharraf and the US in 2003 and called for a halt to the operations.[48]

As the Tribes started to perceive the military's deployment and the PAF's frequent flights over the area as an act of subjugation,[49] the problems grew in 2003. In public remarks from 2003–2004, Musharraf defended army deployments[50] in the area in spite of reservations and urged for the removal of foreign fighters from South Waziristan on multiple occasions. South Waziristan was linked to at least two attempts on President Pervez Musharraf's life in December 2003. In response, the government increased military pressure in the region. But the battle was expensive: between 2004 and the beginning of 2005, the government suffered significant deaths in the military, leading it to abandon direct combat in favor of diplomatic measures.[51]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mehsud, Katharine Houreld (12 March 2015). "Pakistani splinter group rejoins Taliban amid fears of isolation | Reuters". Reuters. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Pakistan Taliban splinter group vows allegiance to Islamic State". Reuters. 18 November 2014. Archived from the original on 19 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Says, Battu (31 March 2015). "Uzbek militants in Afghanistan pledge allegiance to ISIS in beheading video". The Khaama Press News Agency. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  4. Lieven, Anatol (2017). "Counter-Insurgency in Pakistan: The Role of Legitimacy". Small Wars & Insurgencies. 28: 166–190. doi:10.1080/09592318.2016.1266128. S2CID 151355749.
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  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "Database – KPK from 2005 to present". Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "Database – FATA from 2005 to present". Retrieved 24 May 2019.
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  10. "Former Pakistani Taliban No 2 arrested in Afghanistan: Reports". Archived from the original on 19 February 2013.
  11. "Taliban leader killed in firefight with police". Express Tribune. 26 August 2010. Archived from the original on 30 October 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  12. "US missile strike 'kills al-Qaeda chief' in Pakistan". BBC News. 28 September 2010. Archived from the original on 23 December 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  13. Sophia Saifi, Ben Brumfield and Susan Candiotti (6 December 2014). "Pakistan kills al Qaeda leader on FBI most wanted list". CNN. Archived from the original on 26 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  14. Arif Rafiq. "What Happened to ISIS's Afghanistan-Pakistan Province?". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  15. "Released Gitmo detainee joins ISISNov. 19, 2014 – 2:30 – Former Taliban commander named chief of ISIS in Khorasa". fox news. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  16. "Local support for dreaded Islamic State growing in Pakistan: Report". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 17 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
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  20. "Pakistan, Saudi Arabia Cleared for U.S. Arms Buys". Armscontrol.org. 11 September 2001. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
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  22. Bennett-Jones, Owen (25 April 2014). "Pakistan army eyes Taliban talks with unease". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
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  26. Terrorist Organizations Reference Guide
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  29. "Database – Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP)". Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  30. "Red Cross 'gravely concerned' about conditions in Swat Valley". CNN. 31 May 2009. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2011. Pakistan's Swat Valley, where a month long offensive against the Taliban has displaced more than 2 million civilians.
  31. "In source: "A majority of the more than 70,000-plus civilians killed in this violence were Pashtuns, while more than 6 million members of the ethnic group have endured displacement since the onset of conflict in 2003."". Gandhara. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  32. "Pakistan Primer Pt. 1" Archived 29 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine The Rise of the Pakistani Taliban, Global Bearings, 27 October 2011.
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  1. Until 2020, when it re-merged into the TTP.[1]
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