More intense cooperation necessary

Different militant groups ranging from those with dozens into the hundreds of members, all wearing the title of the umbrella group "Taliban," have disparate political agendas. The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan runs 2,400 km, all of it open, allowing easy and unchecked passage to these groups.

The Pakistani Government is now trying to scrub the area on its own side, but one country cannot single-handedly guarantee border security. This tribal area is home to multinational terrorists, and has been used as hub for terrorist activities over the past several decades. Therefore, there must be a collective effort between Pakistan and the government of Afghanistan and the Afghan army and police to rout out these long-embedded insurgents.

"It is very much linked with the situation in Afghanistan. If Afghanistan is stabilized, it will have a positive impact on Pakistan's tribal areas. Other countries with a stake in this region, like China and Uzbekistan, also need to cooperate with Pakistan on this matter," said Najam Rafique, director of the Americas Department at the Institute of Strategic Studies based in Islamabad.

"The terrorists don't want to go home, because if they go home, they'll be prosecuted. There should be a kind of mechanism for extraction, either multilateral or bilateral," Rafique said. "After this huge operation, many small things need to be dealt with, and will require cooperation among Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and others."

There are currently military operations underway in North Waziristan, but Pakistan has requested further assistance from the Afghan Government in closing the border. "Pakistan is trying to wipe terrorism from its land, so it needs help from the Afghan side. Otherwise, terrorists can go across the border into Afghanistan and just return after the operation ends," Sartaj Aziz, advisor to the Pakistani Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, told Beijing Review.

"We have requested coordination with the Afghan national army and the border police, so that any terrorist running from here into Afghanistan will be overrun. If they fight back, we will kill them," Major General Bajwa noted.

Security from the inside, out

China has announced investments totaling nearly $40 billion in the Chinese-Pakistan economic corridor, which will benefit both China's future energy consumption and the revival of Pakistan's economy. For them, any threats from the Taliban or other terrorist groups settled in the region can not be ignored.

The two countries are collaborating on several new projects, and both share the common goals of peace and stability in the region alongside economic growth.

"A lot of Chinese companies and Chinese nationals are working in Pakistan, so the security of these people is a matter very close to the heart of our government," said Major General Bajwa. He said that plans are underway to build up special security forces specifically for the protection of Chinese workers in the country, plans spurred by the Pakistani government and army. According to Sartaj Aziz, more than 9,000 people will be specially trained to protect these workers and companies operating there.

Terrorists have historically held the central areas in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, a semi-autonomous region along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. In recent years, Pakistan has focused on clearing out these central areas, all except for North Waziristan, to which militants – including ETIM, or East Turkistan Islamic Movement members that behind several terrorist bombings in China – still have easy access.

"There are only a handful of ETIM adherents here, but wherever they are, we'll go after them and kill them. We don't even want their shadows on the soil of Pakistan. We share intelligence and detailed information with our Chinese counterparts," stated the Inter Services Public Relations with Major General Bajwa as its director general.

If the militants stay there and pledge to fight, said Major General Bajwa, special forces will raid the area until all known terrorists have been rooted out. "Finally they'll be finished, and they will not get any space on Pakistan land," Bajwa added.

(Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan)