Defense News quotes South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Claude Rakisits on the Pakistani military’s efforts to combat terrorism in the country:
“I suspect these sort of cross-border attacks by the TTP and fellow ideological travelers will be something that, unfortunately, the Pakistan state will have to live with for the foreseeable future,” said Claude Rakisits, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center.
“The Pakistan military has done an excellent job hunting down the myriad of terrorist groups, degrading their capability and disrupting their network since June last year when military operations in South Waziristan and other parts of [Federally Administered Tribal Areas] began. And this has been reflected by the very significant decrease in terrorist attacks inside Pakistan,” he said.
“Unfortunately, terrorism in general can never be completely eliminated; it can only be managed and contained at levels acceptable to the civilian population. Moreover, in the case of Pakistan, this issue is complicated by the rugged and difficult nature of the terrain along the Afghan-Pakistan border which makes it an ideal environment for terrorists and insurgents to operate,” he added.