Amira Jadoon
After more than two decades as a frontline state in the Global War on Terror, Pakistan continues to face a complex and adaptive threat landscape. Militant outfits affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Baloch insurgency, and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) have regenerated and evolved, positioning themselves to exploit Pakistan’s vulnerabilities since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The escalating surge in militant violence — marked by attacks such as last month’s suicide bombing at a Balochistan National Party-Mengal rally, alongside attacks on the Federal Constabulary headquarters in Bannu and Quetta — has spurred a forceful military response from Pakistan. This has included actions such as the resumption of Operation Sarbakaf in Bajaur, and airstrikes in Kabul targeting the TTP leadership, triggering deadly border clashes with Afghanistan only a few days ago.
2024 was one of the deadliest years in Pakistan’s recent history, with a 70 percent surge in militant attacks compared to the year prior, propelling Pakistan to second place on the Global Terrorism Index. And the violence has continued unabated into 2025.
However, these numbers capture only part of Pakistan’s security crisis. The militant violence is further exacerbated by overlapping governance and geopolitical challenges, including federal-provincial disputes over military operations, the detention of activists, mass protests, and stalled negotiations between local peace councils and militants. This escalating crisis demands adaptive security strategies that learn from past failures, alongside reforms in security policies that rebuild trust between state institutions and local communities, and restore cooperation with neighboring states.
In its fight against militancy and terrorism, Pakistan would have to develop tailored approaches to each group — the TTP’s religious insurgency blended with elements of Pashtun nationalism, the BLA’s ethno-nationalist movement, and ISKP’s transnational agenda — rather than a one-size-fits-all security response.
Dealing with the Deadly Trifecta: TTP, BLA, and ISKP
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