This journal article examines the persistence and longevity of terrorism in Pakistan. In Pakistan’s context, paradoxically, both cooperation and competition among the terrorist organisations are positively linked to resilience of terrorism. Philipps identifies three conditions for competition-cooperation dynamics to enhance longevity of terrorism: i) these interactions have to be inter-organisational, ii) the state where these interactions take place has to be a democracy, and iii) the operational environment has to be competitive, dynamic and multi-actor. Pakistan fulfills all three conditions, it is a functioning democracy, the country’s militant landscape is competitive and dynamic where more than 100 terrorist groups of various persuasions operate, and inter-organisational rivalries and cooperation is commonplace. In Pakistan, the discourse on terrorism needs to be remoulded from defeating, which is a misnomer, to failing terrorism and making its ideological and political appeal ir