by Cr. Akbar Shah
Pakistan is grappling with multiple crises of increasing militarisation of state, society, escalating militancy, and economic crunch. The resurgence of violence in Balochistan and Pakhtunkhwa, underscores the failure of the state’s decades old faulty governing system and security apparatus. Simultaneously, systemic economic mismanagement has fuelled public disillusionment, creating a fertile ground for extremism.
An objective analysis of the complex dynamics between Pakistan’s state policies, entrenched militancy, and systemic economic decline reveals an urgent truth: the nation’s long-term stability and survival depend critically on confronting structural vulnerabilities rather than relying on reactive, short-term fixes.
Decades of prioritizing security apparatus and expedient political maneuvers over democratic institutional reform have perpetuated cycles of violence, governance failures, and stagnating development.
Recent attacks targeting moderate religious leaders, activists, and civilians have reignited fears of a return to the dark days of unchecked militancy and terrorism. The state’s response—exemplified by the army chief’s statement and the Prime minister’s national security committee’s communique—has been marked by vacuous rhetoric and a glaring absence of actionable strategies.
While the National Action Plan (NAP), formulated in 2014 to dismantle militant networks, dubbed as a ‘cornerstone of counterterrorism’ efforts, its implementation has been opaque and ineffective. No accountability exists for its failures, nor has there been meaningful dialogue with insurgent groups in Balochistan, where grievances over resource exploitation and political marginalization is growing.
The roots of this crisis trace back to decades of state-sponsored radicalisation. During the Afghan Soviet War (1979–1989), Pakistan’s patronage of jihadist proxies sowed the seeds of blowback terrorism. Today, groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch militant separatists exploit state fragility, while the government oscillates between heavy-handed crackdowns and political appeasement. This incoherence reflects a security paradigm frozen in time, prioritising tactical wins over long-term stability.
Economic collapse a catalyst for discontent
Pakistan’s economic freefall—marked by hyperinflation, a crippling debt crisis, widening inequalities, joblessness, exploitation and stagnant growth—has exacerbated public desperation. According to The World Bank estimates that 40% of Pakistanis now live below the poverty line, with youth unemployment surpassing 20%. Such conditions create a recruitment pipeline for militant groups, which offer economic incentives alongside ideological indoctrination.
Nowhere is this nexus clearer than in Gilgit-Baltistan, where protests against the Diamer-Bhasha Dam and the controversial Land Reforms Act highlight the state’s exploitative economic policies. The dam, a flagship China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, has displaced thousands without adequate compensation, and rehabilitation while the Land Reforms Act threatens to strip indigenous communities of their ancestral lands, pastures and mineral wealth under the guise of “development.”
Similarly, the monopolisation of the Sost Dry Port and restrictive border trade policies at Khunjerab have alienated local traders, further entrenching distrust in state institutions.
Regional tensions and the crisis
The state’s colonial-era governance model—centralised, extractive, and dismissive of local autonomy—has fuelled unrest among the people of peripheries. In Balochistan, decades of neglect and resource plundering (e.g., the Sui gas fields enriching Punjab-based industries, extraction of Saindek and Rikko Dique gold and copper mines) have given rise to a potent insurgency.
Meanwhile, in Gilgit-Baltistan, the “Green Tourism” initiative, touted as an economic boon, is perceived as a move to grab land, common assets in the disputed region that risks dispossessing and displacing communities for elite interests.
Such policies underscore a broader pattern: the state’s reliance on coercion over consensus. Instead of addressing grievances through inclusive dialogue, it deploys force, silences dissent that deepens cycles of violence. The recent targeting of activists who are critical of state failures, reveals a regime more invested in silencing dissent than solving problems.
Pakistan’s crises are neither inevitable nor insurmountable but require a radical reimagining of statecraft. First, counterterrorism must shift from militarism to addressing root causes: poverty, inequality, and political exclusion.
The NAP should be overhauled with transparent benchmarks and political oversight.
Second, economic justice demands redistributive policies of wealth, including land reform and equitable resource-sharing with marginalised provinces and regions.
Finally, democratic decentralisation such as granting ownership of resources to the people of Balochistan, Pakhtunkhwa, and internal autonomy, self-rule to Gilgit-Baltistan, could mitigate extremist militancy and separatist impulses.
The ruling elite’s survival depends on acknowledging that terrorism and economic collapse are symptoms of systemic rot. Without urgent, structural reform, Pakistan will not become a stable and viable state. The time for cosmetic fixes is over; only a commitment to autonomy, equity and accountability can break the cycle of violence and despair.
Cr. Akbar Shah is a progressive writer, senior journalist, and activist based in Gilgit. He is the Editor of the Urdu daily Himalaya Today.
The High Asia Herald is a member of High Asia Media Group — a window to High Asia and Central Asia