PAKISTAN’S COUNTER TERRORISM AND CO- OPERATION STRATEGY: A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of Pakistan's counter-terrorism approach and its cooperative agreement with the broader South Asian regional context. Besides the 1980s, terrorism has always been a major security issue for Pakistan, with the intensity rising during the Soviet Afghan War and the 9/11 attacks. Pakistan has had to deal with very harsh consequences, such as losing more than 70,000 people, billions of dollars in economic cost, and continuous political unrest. However, at the same time, as the center of regional security dynamics, Pakistan has become vital in developing cooperative measures against terrorism. The writer places Pakistan’s case in the context of realism and functionalism, delving into the origin of its counter-terrorism measures and discussing its ties with India, Afghanistan, SAARC, ECO, and SCO. The study concludes that Pakistan's latest military campaigns and the National Action Plan turned around against militancy, but all became very fragile without full cooperation from across the region. Moreover, the paper also points to the problems of Indo-Pak rivalry, turmoil in Afghanistan, and lack of confidence that continues to exist in South Asia as the factors that make it difficult for Pakistan to succeed. The final part urges Pakistan to synchronize its domestic reforms with the multilateral strategies by building up its socio-economic sector, cutting ties with extremist groups, and supporting
Afghan peace talks. The functionalist approach to regionalism can be the path through which the South Asian region will ultimately defeat terrorism and reap the benefits from the prosperity that comes with it.