Why militancy in South Asia is fiendishly difficult to dismantle

Militancy in this South Asian region is deeply rooted and worsening, driven by deteriorating relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as the enduring tensions between India and Pakistan. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan have strong and historic ties with militants, which are challenging to dismantle.

Recent peace negotiations aimed at resolving the current conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan have yielded limited progress. A sustainable peace is unlikely to be achieved until the underlying complexities of the region and the dynamics among the neighbors are acknowledged, understood and confronted.

First to understand is that neither Pakistan nor Afghanistan trusts or likes the other, though both have exploited each other. Pakistan has used Afghanistan as some kind of extensio