Pakistan’s Proxy Gamble: The Dangerous Blowback of Militant Manipulation

Why Islamabad Must Rethink Its Security Strategy Before It’s Too Late

The recent killing of Malik Nabiullah Bin Khel, a peace committee member and close associate of the military and ISI, underscores how deeply the crisis has penetrated

For decades, Pakistan’s military and intelligence apparatus have played a high-stakes game with militant groups like Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkar-e-Islam, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), and Jaish-e-Mohammed. These groups, cultivated as tools for regional influence, have been used to wage proxy conflicts, striking at international coalition forces, Afghan security targets, and even Indian diplomatic sites in Afghanistan. The logic seemed clear: use the militants to further strategic interests, then rein them in when they become inconvenient.

TTP’s brazen claim of responsibility, releasing footage of the assassination, is not just a tragedy for one family; it’s a warning to Islamabad that the monsters it created are now turning on their makers.