Can Pakistan follow Türkiye’s path to peace?

By Shabana Ayaz – MNTV

When Pakistan and Afghanistan signed the Istanbul Peace Statement recently, it marked a rare moment of hope after months of bloodshed.

For six days in Türkiye’s historic city, under the mediation of Turkish and Qatari diplomats, the two neighbors sought to chart a path toward peace following some of the deadliest border clashes in years.

Behind the headlines lies a deeper challenge: militant groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch insurgents continue to exploit sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. From these safe havens, they launch deadly attacks on Pakistani soil—killing soldiers and civilians—before retreating across the border.

Islamabad has long accused the Taliban-led Afghan government of turning a blind eye to these groups. The Istanbul accord—if honored—seeks to change that by establishing a monitoring mechanism and ensuring that Afghan territory is not used for anti-Pakistan terrorism.

To understand what Pakistan hopes to achieve, one must look to Türkiye’s own transformation. For more than four decades, Türkiye battled the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which waged a violent separatist campaign. At the height of the insurgency, the PKK found refuge across Türkiye’s southern border in Syria—then under Bashar al-Assad’s regime, often openly hostile to Ankara.

Rather than accepting perpetual instability, Türkiye pursued a dual strategy. It took a firm stance against the Assad government, launched cross-border operations to dismantle PKK strongholds in northern Syria, and simultaneously intensified domestic counterterror operations. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s leadership combined military resolve with political dexterity—using intelligence diplomacy, internal reforms, and outreach to disillusioned Kurdish communities.

By 2025, this sustained effort paid off. A ceasefire was reached, and imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan called on his followers to lay down arms.

Türkiye had achieved what few thought possible: ending a 40-year insurgency that had claimed more than 40,000 lives. Erdoğan’s government blended strength with inclusion, turning a battlefield victory into a political settlement.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, Pakistan faces a similar—if not more complex—challenge. Military operations and border fencing have restricted militant movement, yet core issues persist. The TTP continues cross-border attacks, while the Baloch insurgency draws strength from historical neglect and nationalist resentment. Both movements, Islamabad argues, are sustained by external sanctuaries—mainly across the Afghan border.

Türkiye’s experience offers valuable lessons. Ankara did not rely solely on force; it coupled military operations with a narrative of national unity and post-conflict rehabilitation.

Pakistan, likewise, must move beyond reactive security measures and address the economic and political roots of alienation in its border regions—through education, infrastructure, and genuine political representation.

Istanbul moment

The Istanbul talks represent both symbolism and substance. Türkiye, once scarred by its own insurgency, is now helping two Muslim neighbors pursue stability. Its mediators drew on hard-earned experience and credibility built through years of balancing power with pragmatism. Under Erdoğan’s leadership, Ankara proved that peace is attainable only when state institutions act with discipline, purpose, and patience.

Pakistan’s challenge is to emulate that balance.

Strength without reform risks deepening divides, while reform without strength invites chaos. The way forward lies in combining both—striking militant networks decisively while rebuilding trust with the communities they exploit.

If Pakistan sustains the Istanbul framework, enforces border monitoring with Afghanistan, and strengthens cooperation with regional partners such as China, Iran, and Central Asian nations, it could begin to replicate Türkiye’s success story.

But doing so will require not just tactical resolve—it will demand strategic endurance and political unity.

Türkiye’s achievement against the PKK stands as proof that insurgencies can end when a nation refuses to surrender to fear or fatigue. Erdoğan’s steady hand turned a decades-long war into durable peace.

Pakistan now faces its own defining test: to turn fragile truces into lasting stability. The world will be watching to see if Islamabad can, like Ankara, transform military struggle into political triumph.