After China’s warning, Pakistan threatens Afghanistan-based TTP with drone strikes

Stung by a surge of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacks in recent months, Pakistan’s defence chief Khawaja Mohammed Asif has put the militant group on notice.

“We won’t serve them with cake and pastries. If attacked, we’ll attack back,” he said on Tuesday in a BBC interview, publicly acknowledging for the first time Pakistan’s responsibility for a handful of previously unclaimed drone strikes on TTP camps in Afghanistan dating back to 2021.

But before it unleashes its drones again, Islamabad must first overcome widespread public opposition to its counterterrorism campaign – especially in the border regions, which will bear the brunt of any flare-up of fighting.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office has repeatedly tried to calm fears about a devastating military operation. Sharif and Defence Minister Asif insist large-scale offensives won’t be necessary this time around. Unlike before, they claim the TTP no longer holds territory or operates “no-go zones” within Pakistan.

Instead, officials say the counterterrorism push will centre on a surge in targeted, intelligence-driven operations. They’ve sought to assure political parties and the public that their concerns about a destructive campaign are unfounded.

But politicians based in KP have ridiculed the claims. Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the country’s largest religious party Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, pointed out last week that even police in southern parts of the province, far from the Afghan border, fear for their lives and have stopped working after dark.

Inland districts like Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu – both military command centres – have seen increasingly brazen TTP activity, he said, describing daytime patrols, road checkpoints, and the militant group extorting