Pakistan, April 28 -- Once again, the frontier has flared up and once again, the alarm bells are being muffled by political distractions. In the early hours of Sunday, Pakistani security forces eliminated 54 militants trying to slip across from Afghanistan into North Waziristan. Fifty-four men. Armed, trained, and ready to wreak havoc.

It was one of the deadliest infiltration attempts in recent years. But let's not kid ourselves: this wasn't a one-off. Last year alone, Pakistan launched more than 59,000 counterterrorism operations, taking out over 900 terrorists. And still, the threat is not receding: it is adapting, regrouping, entrenching itself deeper across the border, where groups like the TTP thrive under the Taliban's watch.

The ...