Islamabad, March 30 (NationPress) It is imperative for Pakistan's civilian and military authorities to acknowledge the repercussions of years of strategic indulgence and support for terrorism on its territory—an approach that has rendered the nation as the most terror-affected globally, as highlighted in a recent report.

The citizens of Pakistan, who have paid the highest price for this policy in terms of lives lost, deserve leadership that prioritizes their security over outdated strategic doctrines.

According to the 'One World Outlook' report, for years, Pakistan's status as a sanctuary for armed militant factions has largely been regarded as a problem exclusive to South Asia—a persistent issue in the India-Pakistan dynamic, a hindrance in the complexities of Afghanistan, and a topic of diplomatic discussions that yield no results. The prevailing assumption in many Western capitals is that events unfolding in the troubled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or the religious schools of Lahore are primarily regional matters, best resolved within the region itself.

New findings from the US Congressional Research Service (CRS), released on March 25, challenge this convenient narrative.

The CRS, a nonpartisan research division of the United States Congress, has identified approximately 15 armed militant groups operating within Pakistan, with 12 of these classified as Foreign Terrorist Organizations under US law.

These groups range from the core of Al-Qaeda—established in Pakistan in 1988 and continuing to forge alliances with other factions—to the Islamic State-Khorasan Province, which is estimated to have between 4,000 and 6,000 operatives active across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. They include organizations aiming to destabilize India and Kashmir, undermine the Pakistani state, attack Iran's ethnic Baloch areas, and incite sectarian violence against Shia Muslims.

Collectively, they represent not just a singular ideological movement but a comprehensive ecosystem of militant infrastructure—one that has been tolerated, nurtured, or insufficiently addressed for many years.

The report underscores a critical paradox: Pakistan is simultaneously a nation suffering from terrorism while also having fostered the conditions that allow these terrorist factions to thrive.

For years, Islamabad has calculated that tolerating specific militant groups—particularly those aligned against India and Afghanistan—would serve its strategic goals. However, this assumption has proven flawed. The same networks, funding channels, and ideological frameworks that support groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed are also responsible for the deaths of countless Pakistani security personnel and their families.

The crucial question is not whether Pakistan has been impacted by terrorism—this is evident—but whether it is taking adequate measures to dismantle the support systems that facilitate it.