Pakistan has countered insurgencies before and it is time to make it a priority again. There have been several news circulating of militants being active again in different areas of the country. In order to avoid an insurgency, Pakistan should make necessary moves to prevent the past from repeating itself by devising strategies and approaches considering the factors such as human and national security.

Countering insurgency requires a proper strategy to not only deal with the militants but also to protect the civilians and the infrastructure. Pakistan has previously faced numerous challenges while countering the insurgents in Swat valley. Many people died and the infrastructure was destroyed during the operations conducted by the military. In order to avoid the same devastation, it is essential to take a look back and avoid the errors made in the past.

Militants from Afghanistan infiltrated the tribal areas and the influence mainly grew after the attack of 9/11 when the US invaded Afghanistan. The Swat valley was occupied and was ruled by the militants between 2007/2008 who imposed radical rules and regulations and upon violation, the only punishment was torture or death. The socio-political system was disrupted and hundreds of women and children were killed.

The first step of counterinsurgency by the government was operation Rah-i-Haq. This happened when the Taliban leaders met secretly in Waziristan in order to plan an attack on the NATO forces in Afghanistan and the armed forces of Pakistan. During the time of 2007-2009, the government failed to peacefully resolve the situations and the plea deals failed as well. The rugged land of the mountains gave the advantage to the militants resulting in the deaths of many locals and military persons. Hundreds of people lost their lives and concerns from the international world were also raised about the possibility of the militants acquiring the nuclear weapons of Pakistan.

Along with poverty, political instability and so many other problems, Pakistan needs to deal with insurgency as well. Learning from the counter-insurgency operation in Swat, the importance of having a population-centric approach and an enemy-centric approach should be considered. When dealing with insurgents, there are many factors that need to be considered such as the civilians and the infrastructure.

It would be wrong to say that the counterinsurgency in Swat was the most successful encounter by Pakistan. The Swat conflict was very violent and was mishandled by the State. The delay and then the failed operations not only killed the civilians and caused casualties but also prolonged the conflict. True, it was able to eliminate the militants later on but at the cost of many lives and the destruction of the infrastructure. Hence, it is time for Pakistan should adopt more modern and effective strategies in dealing with insurgencies.

What Pakistan needs right now is a population-centric counter-insurgency approach with civil-military coordination. It is essential for the government and the military to be on the same page in order to protect the country from non-state actors. When there are unified goals defined, the strategies will become more effective. Most importantly, it is extremely important for the state actors to identify the non-state actors before they get more in numbers and gain power.

The state should identify the factors as well as the actors who are starting an insurgency. Peace talks are the first step and if it fails then the state should consider other measures. Already suffering from political and economic instability, Pakistan cannot afford to face a violent insurgency at this time. Hence, it should be a priority to deal with any uprising against the state properly at the grass root level before the insurgents become too strong and it becomes unmanageable for the state.