DND Report
Pakistan is going through a critical phase as opposition parties are putting pressure on the government to negotiate with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that is overtly supporting terrorist outfits such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The question is why the federal government should go for political mending with a group (PTI) that is bluntly supporting terrorists and stopping the federal government from initiating action against terrorists in troubled areas.
It has been testified on several occasions that whenever terrorists attacked the Pakistan Army (such as the Jaffar Express incident), PTI started spreading fake news, false narratives, and hate-mongering against the country’s security institutions. Furthermore, operational synergy between TTP (officially termed Fitna al-Khawarij by the state of Pakistan) and PTI indicates that it has equally been engaged in efforts to weaken state institutions, undermine public trust, and spread chaos in the country. The TTP targets security forces, while PTI destabilizes the state machinery by creating chaos through protests and violence. While TTP incites rebellion against state institutions in the name of the Sharia system, PTI does the same in the name of hollow “democracy.” PTI’s violent actions, anti-military narrative, and attempts to discredit military leadership reinforce the TTP’s false narrative. This mutual antagonism has become a common confrontation against the state. Now, it has become difficult to differentiate between the narrative of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and that of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). When political forces such as PTI incite public anger against state institutions, groups like TTP succeed in their objectives by diverting the attention of security forces.
On January 6, 2026, DG ISPR Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, while addressing a press briefing, stated that terrorism is backed by clear political motives, facilitation, and organized planning, and that Afghan political decisions had direct consequences for Pakistan’s security. He said terrorism surged in early 2023, citing the Peshawar Police Lines mosque suicide attack, while over 5,000 terrorists were killed in 2024. He detailed 10 major terrorist attacks, including Bannu Cantonment, Jaffar Express, Noshki, the school bus in Buzdar, FC Headquarters, Police Training School, and Islamabad Judicial Complex, all of which were planned in Afghanistan. In these incidents, 78 terrorists were killed and 60 innocent civilians were martyred. He said that in 10 major attacks in 2025, Afghan nationals were involved, and all suicide bombers were Afghan nationals. In the Wana Cantonment College attack, the attacker, Abdullah, contacted handlers in Afghanistan before the attack, and planning was done in Afghanistan, with commanders directing attacks inside Pakistan and facilitating infiltration.
The situation has become more critical for Pakistan as UN reports have repeatedly highlighted that ISKP (ISIS chapter) leadership, recruitment networks, training camps, and logistical pipelines are concentrated on Afghan soil, and China and Russia have openly warned that Afghanistan is becoming a launchpad for terrorism. Their independent intelligence assessments converge on the same conclusion: ISKP’s operational capacity is growing inside Afghanistan, and the threat is no longer confined to its borders. Russian officials and security agencies believe that ISKP’s Afghan-based networks are undermining years of counterterrorism cooperation in the region. According to Moscow, ISKP’s ability to recruit foreign fighters, especially from Central Asia, poses a major threat to the stability of CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) countries. Russia argues that Afghanistan must act decisively instead of deflecting responsibility onto its neighbors. For China, ISKP is not just a security problem; it directly endangers the Belt and Road Initiative, CPEC-related investments, and regional economic corridors. Beijing views ISKP elements in Afghanistan as a rising danger to projects linking China with South and Central Asia. All credible security data, global reports, and regional intelligence trends converge on a single point: the epicenter of ISKP’s power is Afghanistan and the Taliban regime. Pakistan continues to suffer from attacks planned and directed from Afghan territory, with terror networks like ISKP, AQ, and TTP harbored by the Afghan Taliban regime.
On January 9, 2025, the DND News Agency reported that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) had collaboration with Islamic State Khorasan (ISKP), a regional branch of the jihadist group and a franchise of jihadists from Syria. According to the DND report, the IEA and ISKP had been negotiating to cool down tensions between them and persuading ISKP to operate only in areas bordering Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, vacating southern Afghanistan for the time being. The Taliban and ISIS/ISKP follow the same religious school of thought and share the same targets of global jihad. The power struggle between them had been settled by demarcating areas of operation. It is believed that the Taliban are already in contact with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammed al-Jolani).
Related Story: Afghan Taliban and Islamic State Khorasan are mending their ways
ISIS–K (ISKP) seeks to replace current governments within the historic Khorasan region to establish a caliphate across South and Central Asia, governed under a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, similar to that of the IEA. International groups monitoring jihadism and extremism believe that the religious-political philosophy of almost all jihadist organizations is to replace democracies in modern states with a purist rule of life, and ISIS, ISKP, Afghan Taliban, Boko Haram, TTP, and other groups are merely brand names of the same factory, intermingling, intertwining, supporting, and operating together wherever needed.
It may be recalled that in August 2017, ISIS–K and the Taliban jointly attacked several villages inhabited by the Shia Hazara minority in northern Afghanistan, resulting in the mass murder of Hazara men, women, and children in Sar-e Pol Province. Repeated UN and EU assessments, supported by intelligence concerns from China and Russia, establish that Afghanistan serves as a central operating base for ISKP and other terrorist outfits.
Afghanistan has become a base of operations for terrorism, from where attempts are being made to spread instability inside Pakistan. As many as 75,175 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) were carried out nationwide last year—14,058 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 58,778 in Balochistan, and 1,739 in other parts of the country. As a result of these operations, approximately 5,300 terrorists were killed during 2025. According to available data, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were the most affected provinces. In the war against terrorism, 1,235 Pakistani civilians and security personnel were martyred, reflecting the heavy price paid in this struggle. Twenty-seven suicide attacks took place in 2025—16 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10 in Balochistan, and one in Islamabad.
From 2021 to 2025, terrorism showed fluctuations. In 2021, there were 761 terrorist incidents, resulting in 193 terrorists killed and 592 Pakistanis martyred—nearly three Pakistani martyrs for every terrorist killed. In 2025, the situation improved significantly, with 2,597 terrorists killed and 1,235 martyrdoms, meaning two terrorists eliminated for every martyr, indicating a clear improvement in counterterrorism effectiveness.
The political change in Afghanistan in 2021 proved to be a critical turning point in rising terrorism. After the Doha Agreement, regional security deteriorated, and developments in Afghanistan directly impacted Pakistan’s internal security. It is pertinent to mention that after taking power, the Afghan Taliban made three fundamental promises:
- Afghan soil would not be used for terrorism
- Women would be given rights
- An inclusive and representative government would be established
However, no meaningful progress has been seen on any of these promises, and Afghanistan has become a safe haven for terrorists worldwide. Al-Qaeda and ISIS/ISKP are present there, while the leadership and training centers of TTP, BLA, ETIM (against China), and IMU (against Central Asia) are also active in Afghanistan. Terrorists from various ethnicities and regions are present there. After changes in Syria, foreign terrorists relocated to the region, posing a major threat to Pakistan. Reports suggest that multiple terrorist organizations operate from Afghanistan, receiving funding and logistical support through various proxies. Approximately $7.2 million in funding reached terrorists, along with bulletproof jackets and protective equipment during 2025.
The Afghan Taliban are playing a “graded game” at multiple levels, which has allowed terrorist networks to consolidate. After 2021, the Afghan Taliban began reorganizing the TTP as a mother organization, giving it a Taliban-style structure, including training, direction, and strategic guidance. The Afghan Taliban constructed a selective narrative of victory against the US and allied forces, deliberately hiding the real factors behind it. Meanwhile, the war economy in Afghanistan became a major fuel for terrorism. After international funding stopped, terrorism became a permanent source of income for the Afghan Taliban, and instability spread across the region, with Pakistan as the biggest target and the most affected country. In this situation the collaboration between TTP and PTI is fatal combination for Pakistan and political forces of the country believe that government should sit and talk with PTI. Will it be benefitted for Pakistan or a disaster for the country? this question needs serious deliberation before taking any action for negotiating with a group that collaborates with terrorists.
