Car Bomb Attack on Pakistan’s Military Kills Thirteen

What Happened?

A suspected suicide attacker using a truck bomb attacked a column of Pakistani military forces in Northern Waziristan this weekend, killing thirteen and wounding at least half a dozen. Pakistan’s military blamed India for the attack, a claim which India has denied. 

‘A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy,’ a local government official in North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province told multiple news outlets. Though India denied responsibility, the attack was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, a faction of the Pakistan Taliban. 

Why it Matters

The attack is a problem for Pakistan, whether India was responsible or Hafiz Gul Bahadur. Waziristan is an area of Pakistan that is near the Afghan border, and it has long been a place where Pakistan’s authority has been limited. Such a brazen attack on Pakistan’s military is not unprecedented in the area, but it represents a direct challenge to the authority of Islamabad in the region. 

Pakistan itself has a long history of arming militant groups in Afghanistan and near the Pakistani border. Waziristan and the Northwest Frontier Province are significant to Pakistan because of the concept of strategic depth. This is an idea promoted by Pakistan’s Army which holds that a potential war with numerically superior India would require Pakistan to need more room to fight, which includes the north-western areas near Afghanistan. Otherwise, Pakistan could quickly be overwhelmed by a much larger attacking force from India. 

To gain such strategic depth, Pakistan’s military has long sent weapons and arms to militant groups in Afghanistan and near the Afghan – Pakistan border. Such groups would in theory be assets in a future conflict with India, but in practice groups like Hafiz Gul Bahadur sometimes place their own agendas over Pakistan’s, which results in attacks like this one. Pakistan regards militant groups as dangerous but controllable, and Islamabad usually lets these groups operate with a wide degree of autonomy. This attack will likely change that, at least in the short term.

India too has been known to plan and fund attacks against Pakistan’s military in Afghanistan and Waziristan, so Pakistan’s claims could also have merit. India is well aware of Pakistan’s strategic defense plans, and to dilute this India has often paid militants to attack Pakistan’s Army in the region. To date, India has not gotten directly involved in operations in Waziristan, but after the recent conflict with Pakistan they could have adopted a more aggressive posture in the region.

How it Affects You

Vehicle borne improvised explosive devices driven by suicide attackers is a more sophisticated style of attack than most terrorist operations. With the recent conflict between Pakistan and India in addition to the war between Israel and Iran, the potential for a new wave of terrorism to be unleashed across the globe is a credible possibility.