When President Zardari was elected, militant and insurgent elements were attempting to destabilize Pakistan. According to a Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) report in 2008, the country saw 2,148 terrorist attacks, which caused 6,825 casualties, 2,267 of them fatal. The year 2009 witnessed a total of 2,586 terrorist, insurgent and sectarian related incidents of terrorism in Pakistan that killed 3,021 people and injured 7,334. The highest number of attacks was reported from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (1,137), followed by Balochistan (792) and FATA (559).

A core issue hindering the Government from ordering military action was the absence of a national consensus against terrorism. Following a participatory approach, the Government evolved a national consensus against terrorism through the unanimous adoption of an anti-terror resolution passed in the joint sitting of the Parliament on 22 October 2008. According to a survey conducted in the same month, 60 percent of Pakistanis interviewed said that the Government should take a tougher approach to rid their country of terrorist activities. The poll suggested that serious action against militancy in Pakistan enjoyed much citizen support.

This internal mandate, rather than external pressure, reflected the buy-in of the Pakistani people, and it enabled the Government to pursue its policy of eliminating extremism and terrorism from Pakistan. The Government was determined to formulate an 'institutional response' to the threat that emphasized a counter-terrorism policy and involved all the stakeholders.

The Government reached out to all sectors of political opinion to create the All Parties Parliamentary Committee tasked with formulating a National Security Policy, marking an institutional response to the challenge of terrorism. The elected democratic government, while taking all the stakeholders on board, formulated a "3-D" policy to counter the threat:

Dialogue – Meant to engage peaceful elements in a dialogue, seek their contribution in maintaining peace, and address their grievances.
Development – Aimed to foster economic development in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and bring them into the national mainstream.
Deterrence – Dictated using force only as a last resort against elements that threaten peace and challenge the writ of the Government.

Since coming to power in 2008, the Government has placed the political, economic and human development of FATA as its priority. The elected government on its second day in office approved a Rs.185 million (USD$2.2 million) compensation package for those affected by the ongoing military operation in Swat. Despite the severe financial crunch challenging the national economy, the Government stepped forward to fulfill its responsibility of rehabilitating the citizens affected by militancy in Swat. Initially, the Government's dialogue approach yielded positive results: In April 2008, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan leader Baitullah Mehsud declared a ceasefire; In May 2008, the Government and militants led by Maulana Fazlullah signed a 15-point Swat peace agreement that established the Government's writ in the region; And in the same month, the Government signed the Bara peace agreement with Lashkar-e-Islam making it binding on the banned group to accept the Government's writ.

However, in June 2008 the Taliban offensive spread to Peshawar. The military launched a fresh offensive in the Khyber Agency. At the same time, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan announced pulling out of the Swat peace agreement. Military action in Swat and Malakand divisions was a matter of last resort, for it entailed collateral damage and displacement of the local people at a massive level. Although the number of terrorist attacks and the resulting casualties increased in 2009, the military's response inflicted heavy damage on the terrorists' networks and infrastructure in FATA and adjacent areas. Successful military operations against militants in Swat and Malakand resulted in the restoration of peace, law and order in that region by August 2009. The confidence of the people of Swat and Malakand demonstrated the government's capacity to provide security and became a critical factor in turning the tide against terrorists in Pakistan. The ongoing Operation Rah-e-Nijat against terrorists holed up in SWA is a logical extension of the Government's committed fight against terrorists who are challenging the writ of the State. See Global Pakistan for more on Pakistan's international counter-terrorism cooperation, demonstrating Pakistan's international collaboration in combating extremism.