On Sunday 22 May, TTP terrorists attacked the Mehran navy air base in Karachi. In an 18-hour assault, 10 militants stormed the military facility, destroying two US made surveillance planes and killing 12 soldiers. The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack, linking it to Osama Bin Laden’s death. The incident is another example of the TTP’s reach and highlights the alarming inability of the Pakistani armed forces to protect its key military infrastructure.

The army has long been the most powerful actor in Pakistan, forming foreign policy and framing domestic decisions.  But since the death of Bin Laden on 2 May, there have been 28 attacks across the country, killing over 140 people and injuring hundreds of others. Why is the army failing to prevent these attacks? And how is the tribal based TTP able to strike targets across Pakistan?

The military views India as the country’s existential threat and its resources reflect this stand. Over 80% of the military is deployed along the India-Pakistan border. Its focus on India means it has not allocated sufficient resources to the military campaign against the TTP. A White House report released in April questioned whether Pakistan’s military has a clear plan in place for defeating the Taliban and warned that little progress had been made in recent years. The drawn out campaign has allowed the TTP space to re-group in different areas of the country and many of its supporters now operate with impunity in North Waziristan.  Read more: