By Aamir Latif

KARACHI

Pakistan began 2014 with a ceasefire and peace talks aimed at ending a 13-year bloody war against local Taliban militants but is ending the year with renewed violence, punctuated by a Taliban attack on a school that killed 134 children in the city of Peshawar. 

It is a bitter and disappointing end to the year for Pakistanis who had hoped for a lasting ceasefire, following the killing of Hakeemullah Mehsud, the main Pakistani Taliban leader, in a U.S. drone strike in November 2013. The Pakistani security establishment celebrated Mehsud's death but his replacement, the firebrand Mullah Fazlullah, has appeared to be even more lethal. 

A 40-day ceasefire and the peace process, which saw a sharp reduction in militant attacks, ended in June when the Taliban killed 18 people in an attack on Karachi international airport. Days later on June 15, the enraged Pakistani army launched a large-scale military operation, dubbed Zarb-e-Azb, or strike of the sword, to eliminate the Taliban in North Waziristan, a tribal area described as the "heartland of militancy."

The operation quickly spread however, ultimately affecting all but one of the seven semi-autonomous tribal areas in Pakistan's northwest and displacing more than 1 million people. The army claims it has killed more than 1,600 militants but their ban on media entering operation-hit areas prevents any independent verification of the figures. 

The last two weeks of December, since the Peshawar tragedy, have witnessed a country-wide crackdown against militants coupled with a review of national counter-terrorism policy, the lifting of a six-year long de facto ban on the death penalty and the establishment of military courts to try high-profile militants.

The continued instability meant that Pakistani is still struggling to contain the endemic polio virus, which has led to the World Health Organization placing travel restrictions on the country in June. There have been more than 250 reported cases in Pakistan this year, mostly in the northwestern tribal belt. 

The Taliban have enforced a de facto ban on the polio vaccination drives by killing anti-polio workers. The believe the campaigns are a front for foreign intelligence agencies after the CIA used one to search for Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden in 2012. 

– A tough New Year

Broadening military operations and the announcement of an all-out war against the Taliban mean security and political analysts think 2015 will bring more challenges for Pakistan. 

 "Pakistan is unconsciously entering into a war that the United States is going to end very soon,” said Mohammad Tahir, an Islamabad-based political analyst, comparing Pakistan's tussle with the Taliban to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.

“A state’s reaction to a big tragedy like the Peshawar massacre should not be reactionary," says Tahir. "It should be legal and constitutional. Unfortunately, we are heading towards a situation where the U.S. was 14 years ago.”

“Today, the US is seeking our cooperation to get out of this so-called war on terror. I am afraid that we are heading towards a situation where we will be seeking the U.S. cooperation to do the same,” he said.

Tauseef Ahmed Khan, a Karachi-based political analyst said it is likely to be a tough year, but he is not pessimistic. 

“There are some positive developments on the national front that will help Pakistan get rid of the menace of terrorism in 2015,” he said, adding that the political and security establishment are now both on the same page against militancy.

“But I admit that this will not be an easy task. It will be a daunting task because plans are easy to make but difficult to implement,” he said.

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