Pakistan faces a number of security threats.

Insurgency in the Northwest

Since 2001 Pakistan has been a partner in the US-led Global War on Terror, launching a series of offensives against militant groups in the northwest, particularly in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. A number of insurgent groups have maintained bases and training camps in Pakistan and the state has historically provided some support to militants fighting in its border states.

On 27 January 2011, Pakistan’s security forces began a campaign against Taliban militants in Mohmand and Bajaur agencies, closing the border with Afghanistan and displacing over 25,000 residents. The US is encouraging an additional campaign in North Waziristan, a stronghold of the Haqqani network. However, Pakistan has not committed to a full-scale offensive in the area.

Unmanned Predator drone aircraft continue to target militant leaders in Pakistan. Estimates put the number of strikes at 118 in 2010, more than double the previous year. The US will not confirm the attacks and the Pakistani government reiterates that no foreign forces may operate in the country. Scholars question the legal basis for using drones to carry out targeted killings in Pakistan.

Tribal clashes in the northwest increase the bloodshed and insecurity. In February 2011 tribal leaders in Kurram Agency in FATA made peace after four years of sectarian violence that killed and displaced thousands of civilians. Brokering peace deals with militant groups is a strategy that Pakistan’s army has used to address insurgency in the tribal areas.

Balochistan Separatist Conflict

Baloch nationalist leaders have been fighting government forces for more autonomy, including independence from Pakistan, for many years. Ongoing issues include control over the exploitation of natural resources, concern over national development projects accruing little benefit to local populations, poverty in the region, and threats related to ethnicity and tribal powers.

Targeted attacks are increasing with both Baloch militant groups and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) implicated in the violence directed at political and civilian targets. Abductions, disappearances, torture, roadside bombs, landmines, and attacks on pipelines and places of worship have also been employed in the conflict.

In November 2009, the government introduced a 39-point package of concessions and incentives aimed at building peace in the region.

Kashmir

Since the partition of British India in 1947, the region of Kashmir has been an ongoing source of conflict between India and Pakistan. Peace talks between the countries resumed informally in the summer of 2010 after they derailed following the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, which India believes were carried out by state-sponsored militants from Pakistan.

Pakistan has stated that resolving the territorial dispute over Kashmir is a priority. However, India is also interested in addressing the issue of anti-India terrorists in Pakistan, water rights, and influence in the future of Afghanistan.

Sindh

Karachi experienced an increase in terrorism and targeted attacks in 2010. Organized crime syndicates are adding to the death tolls from sectarian, ethnic, and political violence in the city. Suspects include the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) and their factions, the Awami National Party (ANP), and various sectarian organizations. Officials suspect that the city is the new home for the Quetta Shura Taliban from Afghanistan.

Humanitarian Crises

It is estimated that in 2009 more than 3 million people were displaced by military operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the Kyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province. Many returnees were displaced a second time in 2010 when major flooding created a nation-wide crisis. The flooding affected more than 20 million people in KPK, Balochistan, Sindh, and Punjab.

Pakistan also hosts 1.7 million refugees, mostly displaced Afghanis.

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