ICG report

The refusal of Kabul to take action against terrorist outfits operating from Afghanistan and behave like a responsible member of the comity of nations has had its worst toll on Pakistan. Since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, incidents of terrorism in Pakistan have escalated. At a press conference last week, the spokesperson for Pakistan Army said that 5,397 terror incidents took place in Pakistan in the past year, of which 3,811, or 71%, were reported from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 1,557, or 29%, from Balochistan — the two provinces bordering Afghanistan.

The military spokesperson's reiteration that Afghanistan has become a "centre point where terrorists of all kinds are being nurtured" has been vindicated by a new report released by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG). The report emphasises that the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan has affected Pakistan the most in terms of terrorist violence, adding that only in 2025, more than 600 Pakistani security personnel were martyred in attacks by terrorists groups, mainly in K-P and Balochistan.

ICG is not the only one to substantiate Pakistan's stance that Afghanistan is the epicentre of terrorism in the region. A December 2025 report by UN's Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team also said that "a wide range of member states consistently report that ISIL-K, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Al Qaeda, the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, also known as the Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIM/TIP), Jamaat Ansarullah, Ittihadul Mujahideen Pakistan, and others are present in Afghanistan. Some groups have used or are continuing to use Afghanistan to plan and prepare external attacks."

There is thus no denying that the TTP, after being eliminated in Pakistan, was allowed to regroup and develop a solid base in Afghanistan, from where it continues to launch vicious attacks inside Pakistan. Taliban would be well-advised not to delay steps to flush out the TTP and other terrorist groups from their midst — not just in the interest of the region, but also for the sake of the long suffering Afghan citizens.