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PAKISTAN has never enjoyed an ideal law-and-order situation. Ethnic conflicts, religiously motivated terrorism, tribal feuds, organised crime, political violence and weak policing have remained persistent features of the state. Over the last three decades, these challenges have evolved into a far more complex security landscape. Urban crime has expanded, organised criminal syndicates have become more sophisticated, terrorism and insurgencies have persisted and criminal and militant economies have increasingly overlapped.
The result is a multidimensional crisis that affects not only citizens’ security but also economic growth, investment, social cohesion and state legitimacy. The most visible deterioration has occurred during the last five years. Major urban centres, once considered relatively insulated from conflict, are increasingly exposed to violent crime, extortion, targeted killings, cyber-enabled criminality and sporadic terrorist attacks. The traditional distinction between militancy and criminality is also becoming blurred as terrorist organisations increasingly rely on criminal networks for financing and logistics, while criminal gangs exploit conflict environments for profit.
