As the deadliest year in Pakistan’s recent history unfolds, calls for separating sports from safety concerns overlook the urgent realities facing the nation
Global Terrorism Index 2024 reports that Pakistan had the highest recorded terror attacks of any country in the world. 490 attacks were formally recorded with spiralling instances in the fourth successive year of increased deaths and terror incidents. The US Department of State currently maps the situation at “level 3” i.e., warning its citizens to “Reconsider Travel”. Similarly, British authorities “advises against all travels to parts of Pakistan” and note bluntly, “No travel can be guaranteed safe”.
There are two dedicated Pakistani Army Divisions deployed to secure Chinese personnel and assets of the various Chinese-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) imperatives in Pakistan, yet the same gets targeted with seeming impunity and deadly consequences. Even royals from various Arab sheikdoms who used to descend into the Pakistani hinterland for the annual Houbara hunting season have desisted from the same, given the acute security concerns prevailing. Whereas India has rightfully slammed Pakistan for being the “world’s terrorism factory” for its nefarious record in fanning religious extremism and armed insurgency on Indian soil, since independence.