Pakistan risks deeper instability as political feud threatens counterterrorism efforts
Federal intervention in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has inflamed tensions amid rising militant violence
The KP provincial administration, led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, had refused to support intensified military operations against Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, despite surging levels of violence over the last few years.
Instead, the KP provincial assembly has passed several resolutions questioning the efficacy of counterterrorism operations and threatening to block them, while the PTI-led administration rallied resistance by tribal elders in the most afflicted districts bordering Afghanistan.
