Pakistan today finds itself engulfed in crises across four distinct but interconnected fronts, each exposing the erosion of state authority and the limits of Asim Munir’s security-first approach, India Today's Sushim Mukul reported .

From Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and the Afghan border, the establishment is battling insurgencies, uprisings, political movements and cross-border hostilities simultaneously. The situation has become so severe that even former Afghan vice-president Amrullah Saleh cryptically suggested that a new country might be taking shape in the region.

In Balochistan, armed resistance rooted in decades of political exclusion, resource exploitation and enforced disappearances has intensified. The province is now facing two ideologically distinct enemies: the Baloch Liberation Army, which seeks independence, and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which aims to impose its version of Islamic rule.

Recent attacks have demonstrated unprecedented coordination, with militants overrunning police posts, ambushing convoys and striking urban centres. Analysts describe this as the gravest security crisis in Balochistan’s modern history, with claims that insurgents control vast swathes of territory.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is bleeding under relentless TTP assaults. Ambushes, suicide bombings and drone attacks have become routine across Waziristan, Bannu, Bajaur and other districts. The collapse of the ceasefire in 2022 has allowed the group to regenerate and expand beyond its traditional strongholds. 

The overlap of theatres in KP and Balochistan has forced Pakistan’s military to divide its already stretched resources, while the use of quadcopters and information warfare has added new layers to the threat.

In Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, the challenge is political rather than purely militant. The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee has mobilised thousands over inflation, electricity, flour prices and political representation.

Islamabad’s heavy-handed response—deploying thousands of personnel, imposing internet blackouts and proscribing the movement under anti-terror laws—has only deepened alienation. Protests have survived arrests and killings, with slogans openly challenging Pakistani control. The unrest highlights disenfranchisement and the inability of the state to address civic grievances without brute force.

On the Afghan border, Pakistan’s former allies have turned into adversaries. The Taliban government in Kabul has been accused of sheltering TTP leaders, while Pakistan has conducted air strikes across Afghan provinces.

Civilian casualties have fuelled resentment, and the Taliban has retaliated with its own strikes, turning the Durand Line into a battlefront. What was once celebrated as strategic depth has now become a source of daily confrontation, with each strike risking escalation and further instability.

The cumulative effect of these crises is staggering. The Global Terrorism Index recorded over a thousand terrorism-related deaths in 2025, the highest since 2013. Daily attacks across provinces have created a war-like situation, while political leaders within Pakistan openly admit that separatist movements are active in multiple regions. Strategic experts argue that the state’s reliance on coercion rather than consent has reached its limits, exposing a widening crisis of authority.

Amrullah Saleh’s suggestion of a new country may not be an intelligence assessment, but it reflects the gravity of Pakistan’s predicament. The BLA, TTP, JAAC and Afghan Taliban are distinct entities with different goals, yet together they reveal the weakening of Islamabad’s grip.

Even Pakistan’s defence minister has warned that the country is falling apart. Analysts caution that internal pressures could push the military towards external adventurism to divert attention, but the reality remains that Pakistan is battling fires on four fronts, each capable of paralysing the state.

Agencies