The Good, the Bad and Pakistan

When the enemy wears the same uniform and preaches the same creed, chaos knows no borders. Pakistan is fighting its own reflection.

In Orakzai district, near the Afghan border, Pakistani forces launched an intelligence-based operation against Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts, resulting in 11 soldiers killed and 19 militants killed. The TTP claimed responsibility for the ambush, which began with roadside explosives followed by heavy gunfire. This latest attack is yet another reminder that Pakistan remains vulnerable, that militant groups maintain an active presence, and that the narrative of restored security is far from true. This is precisely why it's important to speak out now, before silence becomes a habit.

Pakistan is at war with itself. Again. And the latest attack has reminded the world of an old truth: those who feed fanaticism will ultimately be devoured by it.

For years, Islamabad believed it could control the Taliban like a snake. It financed, trained, and armed Islamist groups to use as pawns on the regional chessboard. When the game went well, they were called allies. When they turned against the state, they were called terrorists. Now, there are no longer enough names for so much contradiction.

The TTP was born in 2007, but its history began much earlier, when Pakistan transformed extremism into foreign policy. During the Cold War, it was the front line against Soviet communism; after 9/11, it became America's reluctant partner in the war on terror. In between, it created its own militias, multiplied madrassas , and cultivated the dangerous idea that there could be good and bad Taliban.

When the Soviets left Afghanistan, the militants remained. And when the United States left in 2021, the ghosts returned.

With the fall of Kabul and the victory of the Afghan Taliban, the Pakistani brothers returned to the attack. The army responded with its usual mix of arrogance and improvisation. First, it tried to negotiate. Then, it bombed entire villages. Finally, it pretended that calm was victory.

The truce with the TTP, brokered by the Afghan Taliban, lasted only a few months. The government released prisoners, the army retreated, and the group took advantage of the situation to reorganize. When they attacked again, they were stronger, richer, and more certain of impunity.

The blame, of course, is never anyone's. Some say it's Afghanistan's. Others say it's the United States'. The truth is that Pakistan continues to play a dangerous game: trying to maintain good relations, it ends up being held hostage by everyone. It's the country that receives American aid while funding anti-Western religious schools. It dreams of Chinese investment while tolerating groups that attack Chinese engineers. It denounces terrorism while simultaneously fueling it.

The result is clear to see. The army commands, the government obeys, and the people pay. The economy sinks, inflation soars, and violence spreads. The country needs stability to build gas pipelines and economic corridors, but extremism builds nothing. It only destroys.

Pakistan aspired to be a nuclear power, a regional mediator, and a guardian of the faith. It managed to be all of these, but in dangerously unstable versions. Today, it fights an enemy that speaks the same language, prays in the same direction, and shares the same dream of purity.

The good is long gone. The bad multiplies. And the terrible thing is realizing that Pakistan still believes it can negotiate with hell and come out unscathed.