Global Terrorism Index 2025

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Terrorist Groups (Part 4): Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, is an Islamist militant group active primarily in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Formed in 2007, the group shares a common ideology with the Afghan Taliban and has assisted the Afghan Taliban several times during the 2001-2021 war. The TTP is an umbrella organisation comprising many smaller Islamist armed militant groups that operate along the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The TTP’s main stated objective is to overthrow the Pakistani government by committing acts of terrorism against the Pakistan armed forces and members of the state. 

Following the TTP's deadliest attack on record, in which a school was targeted and 141 people were killed in December 2014, the Pakistani government introduced the National Action Plan (NAP) to combat terrorism and extremism, with a particular focus on the TTP. This initiative led to the launch of Operation Azm-e-Istehkam in June 2024; a counter-insurgency campaign designed to accelerate the implementation of the NAP. The campaign includes airstrikes aimed at eliminating militants and capturing key leaders of insurgent groups. As part of these efforts, Pakistan conducted targeted airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, focusing on TTP camps. However, Taliban forces claimed these strikes resulted in mainly civilian casualties comprising of women and children. While the TTP does not hold direct territorial control within Pakistan, its influence remains significant in areas such as North and South Waziristan and within the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. The group continues to take advantage of the mountainous terrain in order to facilitate movement and maintain operational mobility across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Changes since 2023 
The TTP was the third deadliest terrorist group in 2024, responsible for 558 deaths across 482 attacks, the second highest number of attacks by any single group last year. After a period of reduced activity between 2017 and 2021, the group has experienced a resurgence, with attacks more than doubling in the past year alongside a 90 per cent increase in deaths. The number of attacks attributed to the TTP was at its highest ever on record in 2024, while deaths caused by the group were at their highest level since 2011. 

The TTP’s activity is confined largely to Pakistan’s northern border with Afghanistan, with 96 per cent of the TTP’s 2024 attacks occurring in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, likely due to its proximity to Afghanistan’s capital. TTP activity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province more than doubled last year, from 182 attacks resulting in 265 deaths in 2023 to 462 attacks and 545 deaths in 2024. The deadliest TTP attack in 2024 occurred in the province, where TTP militants killed 16 Pakistani soldiers at an army outpost. The TTP claimed the attack was in retaliation for the killing of senior TTP commanders. Terrorist activity remained relatively low in other regions, with only 13 of the 558 deaths from terrorism occurring outside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

Tactics favoured by TTP 
Aligning with its anti-state objectives, the TTP’s most common targets were police and military personnel, accounting for 51 per cent and 16 per cent of attacks, respectively. Civilians were the next most targeted group, comprising 16 per cent of attacks and 19 per cent of terrorism-related deaths. 

​Armed attacks remain the TTP’s most common tactic in 2024, accounting for almost two-thirds of attacks and 72 per cent of deaths. Bombing was the second most common tactic, with the number of bombings increasing almost threefold when compared to the previous year. 

​Global Terrorism Index 2025. Institute for Economics & Peace. Sydney, Australia.