In less than two weeks after Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, subsumed all powers unto himself and the military establishment by amending the country’s constitution, powerful explosions rocked the front gate of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary (FC) in Peshawar on Monday morning, killing at least three people, including at least one suicide bomber.
Peshawar is the capital city of Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which according to reports, is an important area for the operations of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which the Pakistani state refers to as the Fitna-al-Khawarij. Of late, there has been a resurgence of the TTP.
This attack, which took place around 8 and 9 in the morning, is an important message that the challenges to Munir may have just begun rearing their head and that by no means are his powers completely consolidated.
A social media account affiliated to the TTP posted on Monday morning: “Our martyrdom-seeking mujahedeen attack on the headquarters of the Federal Constabulary in Peshawar... as a result of which dozens of officers have been killed and wounded.” The TTP has been fighting for complete implementation of Sharia rule in Pakistan.
In September, the TTP had attacked the FC headquarters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu, about 190 km southwest of Peshawar, killing six soldiers.
While Munir may have stamped the seal of constitutional legitimacy on absolute rule by the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) by creation and then assuming the post himself, and undermining judicial control of the country’s Supreme Court by setting up the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), Monday’s attack is indicative of the fact that the banned TTP operates with impunity and can target high security zones at will.
The security challenge comes from the TTP in the northwest and the Baluchistan resistance movement in south and southwest Pakistan. What makes the security challenge more serious is the influence and support for the TTP in neighbouring Afghanistan. This is compounded by a plummeting relationship between Islamabad and the Taliban leadership in Kabul.
This has resulted in the Pakistan military being spread out to guard both its western borders with Afghanistan and the eastern borders with India.
The security challenge is just one dimension of the huge plethora of challenges that Munir-led Pakistan faces.
The economy totters on the edge with high inflation, a growing burden of debt, and currency depreciation—the reason why Islamabad keeps on seeking aid from foreign entities like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) besides the US, China and the Gulf nations.
Politically, jailed popular leader Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) retain much of their relevance and pose a serious threat to the powerful military establishment. Popular opinion still views Khan as a serious contender for Pakistan’s leadership in the days to come.
Strategically, Munir will have to use his best diplomatic capabilities to balance its ties with the US and China even as the relationships with India and Afghanistan continue to simmer.