A new footage circulating from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has triggered serious questions about Pakistan’s counter-terrorism policy, showing Pakistan Army vehicles passing unhindered through a checkpoint manned by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants.
The video, which is being widely shared on social media, shows armed TTP members standing at a roadside checkpoint while a military convoy passes through without any exchange, stoppage, or confrontation.
The development comes at a time when Islamabad claims to be conducting intensive operations against the TTP and has justified cross-border strikes inside Afghanistan, stating that it is targeting TTP hideouts.
Analysts and local sources in KPK point to a long-standing contradiction. On one hand, the military establishment projects itself internationally as a frontline force against terrorism; on the other, ground realities suggest a pattern of coexistence.
Sources allege that the relationship between the establishment and militant groups operates as a mutual insurance policy.
According to local observers, when the military faces severe public criticism over its political role, a sudden spike in terrorist incidents in KPK and Balochistan shifts the national narrative back to security. Conversely, when militants are apprehended by civilian law enforcement, military officials reportedly intervene to secure their release.
Critics argue that the ongoing instability in KPK serves multiple strategic purposes – justifying large-scale military operations, securing foreign counter-terror funding, and maintaining control over the Pashtun belt.
The military’s media wing, ISPR, has not yet issued a clarification regarding the footage of the convoy passing through the TTP checkpoint.
The video has once again intensified calls for transparency in Pakistan’s security operations and for an independent investigation into the alleged links between state institutions and proscribed organizations.
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