Pearl Pandya on Pakistan-Afghanistan Tensions Following Deadly Attacks in Bannu and Naurang Bazaar

A massive blast at the crowded Sarai Naurang Bazaar market in northwestern Pakistan on 12 May killed at least nine people and wounded dozens more, according to emergency services, marking the latest major attack to hit the country’s border regions and threatening to further reignite tensions with neighboring Afghanistan. 

Pearl Pandya, South Asia Senior Analyst at ACLED, said: 

“The attack comes just a day after Pakistan summoned a senior Afghan diplomat and lodged a formal protest over the deadly suicide attack in northwestern Pakistan’s Bannu that killed 15 police officers over the weekend. According to Pakistani authorities, a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a security compound before armed militants launched a coordinated assault, triggering a prolonged gunfight and the partial collapse of the building. Islamabad blamed the attack on Afghanistan-based militants, and warned that it reserved the right to take “decisive action” against those responsible. 

“In April, ACLED recorded a decline in activity by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and allied groups in Pakistan for the second consecutive month, reaching the lowest level recorded so far this year. While this may have created an opening for peace talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan toward a comprehensive agreement, today's deadly attack in Lakki Marwat, coming days after the Bannu suicide bombing, have dimmed any such prospects. A further escalation in cross-border hostilities now seems increasingly likely, with the conflict between the two countries already well into its third month.”