Why extremism still haunts Pakistan

In recent months, Pakistani officials have boasted of major counterterrorism successes. They cite, for example, the scores of militants killed in an ongoing military operation in the North Waziristan tribal area, and point to the considerable reductions in terrorist violence. And it’s true that last year, the number of civilian deaths from terrorist violence was down about 50% from 2014.
Still, let’s be clear: Despite the counterterrorism triumphs over the last year, militancy has not been muzzled in Pakistan, a reality made painfully clear on Wednesday morning, when terrorists stormed Bacha Khan University in the town of Charsadda in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 19 people.