The War on Terrorism has been jeopardizing Pakistan’s internal security since 2001. The increasing suicide attacks and bomb blasts terrorised the entire nation and question the practicability of present counterterrorism strategy. The uphill task for the new government would be to address country’s political and economic disarray vigilantly which has progressed rapidly in the past year; and also chalk out a new strategy to combat the menace of terrorism. 
The present approach to improve the law and order situation in Federal Administrative Tribal Areas (FATA) has failed to satisfy the people of Pakistan and external stakeholders. For instance, Islamabad has remained in the forefront for the accomplishment of the Operation Enduring Freedom, but has failed to prove its sincerity in the war. During the last week, once again Washington and Kabul reiterated that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban Chief Mullah Mohammad Omar were operating from Pakistan. Islamabad had rejected the charge. In addition, the Taliban spokesperson stated that Mullah Omar was leading the insurgency from within Afghanistan. This recent controversy failed to attract enough attention due to the presence of the Chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen in Pakistan. He said, “I am going back to Washington quite satisfied.” The chief of the US armed forces seemed satisfied and optimistic about Islamabad’s role in the War on Terrorism. Therefore, he categorically stated that the US would not attack or invade Pakistan and continue to provide military assistance to the latter. Despite this, many Western leaders and analysts remained somewhat dissatisfied.   
Islamabad has been facing great difficulty in upholding its writ in FATA due to the presence of transnational terrorists, who are ideologically radicalised, religiously motivated, politically committed, internationally well-connected and above all strategically skilled in guerrilla warfare. These terrorists from different states are integrated by transnational non-state organisations through global networks of terrorist cells located in many countries, involving effective level of communication and coordination.  The terrorist organisations have advantage of both political and popular sanctuaries in the Pakistan-Afghan border area. The anarchy in Afghanistan, porous nature of Afghan-Pakistan border, strong ethnic linkages among the people living on both sides of the borders, collateral damage, increasing hatred against the international forces in general and West in particular and poverty in the region all contributed to lawlessness in FATA, which suited to the designs of al Qaeda and undermine the government of Pakistan’s writ in these areas.
The conflict in FATA has acquired the characteristic of protracted asymmetrical warfare. The non-state warriors or transnational terrorists or al Qaeda network are increasingly assuming the characteristics of an ideological movement; they will not be decisively defeated by military ideal strategy -- offense and barbaric tactics -- in the near future. The military ideal strategy causes collateral damage, which in this era of nationalism is more a catalyst for insurgencies. The terrorist organisations have been effectively using the collateral damage for indoctrinating; recruiting; intelligence data collection; raising finances for their guerrilla warfare. Another decisive advantage to the transnational terrorists’ network is that they have freedom of operation, incase of target selection. Therefore, the transnational terrorists selected a strategy of protracted struggle having a low level of military intensity with a clear object to wear down Pakistani organised societies’ morale and tire them out. It is worth noting that this strategy demands considerable moral endurance on the part of those initiating it and that its prerequisites are a strong emotional element in the struggle and a highly developed sentimental of religious solidarity. 
The transnational terrorists’ strategy necessitates chalking out a long-term multi-layered sustainable comprehensive combat strategy. The primary objective of this strategy is to address the hearts and minds of those to whom terrorist organisations exploit for their nefarious designs. Importantly, the accomplishment of comprehensive combat strategy depends on international cooperation and capacity building at the national, regional and international level. In this context, it is imperative that all the stakeholders should intelligently address internally and externally the troika of violence, injustice and poverty. Simultaneously, they chalk out strategies that de-legitimise the ideological foundation of terrorist organisations to prevent others from being led astray by radical or violent ideologies. More precisely, reject the notion of clash of civilization or cultures between the West and the Muslim world.
The international consensus to save the entire world from terrorists’ barbarism requires new strategic thinking entailing new military institutions and new processes in warfare are the most urgent and the most fundamental requirement of the present time. ISAF/NATO/US/Pakistan forces’ ineffective combat strategies generate an impression that the traditional methods of warfare are not good and no one has been able to find a novel way one. More precisely, we need new rules and methods for curbing the menace of transnational terrorism in Pakistan. The new government, therefore, ought to revise the counter terrorism strategy and sincerely implement long-term multi-layered sustainable and comprehensive modus operandi.