The Pakistan Army has reportedly deployed three of its most loyal militant proxies — Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen — to serve as additional security layers around mines and mineral projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), according to intelligence officials. The move comes amid Governor's Rule imposed on the province following the removal of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led elected government, giving the military establishment direct control over the region's resource base.

Governor's Rule and the Resource Motive

According to officials cited in reports, the imposition of emergency and Governor's Rule in KP served a dual purpose: undermining Imran Khan's PTI — which had governed the province — and seizing unimpeded access to the region's mines and minerals. With no elected government in place, the Pakistan Army and establishment are said to have full control over the province's resource extraction, which was reportedly not the case under civilian rule.

Protests have erupted across KP and other parts of Pakistan following the decision, which critics within the country have widely condemned. The PTI has been described as 'up in arms' against the establishment over the move. Residents of KP have long alleged that wealth extracted from their land is diverted to Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi, with little returning in the form of development or basic amenities.

Why These Three Proxies

The Pakistan Army's traditional militant network in KP has fractured significantly in recent years. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), originally nurtured within what officials call the 'terror factories' of KP, has turned against the establishment and now poses its most severe internal threat. The Haqqani Network, once a prized strategic asset, shares a 'complex relationship' with Islamabad following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan — a development that analysts say has driven Pakistan-Afghanistan ties to a historic low with no near-term thaw in sight.

This reportedly leaves the establishment with limited options. Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen — all operating under close ISI and Pakistan Army oversight — have used KP as a regrouping ground for several years. According to an Intelligence Bureau official, there is 'plenty of activity' within these networks, particularly around Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has mobilised troops in large numbers in the region.

Dedicated Units for Mine Security

Reports indicate that the army has set up dedicated units within these three outfits specifically to guard mines, minerals, and associated infrastructure projects. Conventional security forces are also being deployed in significant numbers, with the Governor — now the province's de facto authority — tasked with determining troop deployment levels across KP.

The strategy, according to officials, is to use these proxy groups as a buffer against the TTP. The logic, as described, is that by the time the TTP can reach regular army units, it will have been weakened by engagement with the three proxy groups. This comes after the Pakistan Army acknowledged suffering significant losses in direct confrontations with the TTP, leaving troop morale badly dented.

Broader Strategic Implications

The reported strategy has wide implications for regional security. International investors and foreign entities are reportedly being invited to develop KP's mineral assets, with the army's multi-layered security arrangement — blending conventional forces with proscribed militant groups — forming the operational backbone of that protection. Critics argue this institutionalises the use of terror outfits as instruments of economic statecraft, a pattern observers say Pakistan has long employed but rarely this explicitly in an internal resource-extraction context.

This is also the latest chapter in a long-running tension between the federal establishment and KP's population, who have historically viewed Islamabad's interventions as extractive rather than developmental. How the situation evolves will depend in large part on whether the PTI-led resistance — and the public protests it has galvanised — can sustain pressure on the establishment.