As Pakistan undertakes its counter-terror operations against terrorist outposts and positions across Afghanistan, albeit a temporary pause due to Eid ul Fitr which clerics from Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday have appealed to be extended till Eid-ul-Azha, a new report has ranked Pakistan number one on the Global Terrorism Index for the first time ever.
Recording a 6% increase in terrorism-related deaths, a total of 1,139, in the year 2025, the Global Terrorism Index 2026 report, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace last week, has noted that this was the “sixth consecutive year” in which Pakistan witnessed a surge in terrorism and related deaths, though it has topped the list only for the first time.
Pakistan’s plea regarding how the country has been one of the worst victims of cross-border terrorism for long needed a similar, though a gravely concerning, endorsement as the report’s findings.
Last year Pakistan ranked number two on the Global Terrorism Index, but with the number of deaths in terrorist attacks having risen by a whopping 45% over the past year, it has shot up to the top. Deaths from terrorism are now at their highest level since 2013, the report reveals, also stating that the Afghan Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan has “profoundly impacted Pakistan’s security and stability.”
According to the report the Afghan Taliban’s return to power has “provided the TTP with the means and motivation to significantly expand their geographic reach and operational efficiency, resulting in a considerable rise in violent extremism in the region.”
Amidst this escalation of daunting extremist violence for years, Pakistan’s recent offensive Ghazab-lil-Haq, launched in February this year, sent out clear communication regarding our unyielding commitment towards safeguarding our own sovereignty. The operation has brought much success in terms of damages to terrorist nests across Afghanistan and razing key terrorist hubs.
Yet, our very own war on terror has proven time and again that military operations alone are not an effective and sustainable strategy to deter terrorist attacks, as kinetic gains fail to address the drivers & root causes behind terrorism.
With our approach primarily being reactive rather than proactive and efforts rarely been made to effectively remove the root causes and drivers of terrorism, terrorist barbarity resurfaces repeatedly in the country, every time more forcefully than before, eventually having pushed Pakistan to the top of countries ravaged by terrorist onslaughts.
Notwithstanding what the report highlights as Pakistan’s “strained” relationship with neighbouring countries from where these attacks mostly emanate, internal factors fanning the flames of extremism are multifarious and need our attention more than ever before.
Political polarisation in the country and the US-Iran war are factors that may only currently worsen threats of terrorism that Pakistan faces, but old and inherent issues of political instability, rapid change in policies and the shuffling of power every now and then, have gone a long way aggravating the challenge of terrorism for a long time.
Sectarian violence, lack of education, escalating poverty, a tattered social fabric and polarisation in the society are factors that have stoked the fire of terrorism for decades. All these factors have a correlation to extremism, the foundation of ever emerging waves of terrorism in the country: the unmanaged madrasa culture, flaws in policy making and economic vulnerability to tackle extremism and create effective counter-terrorism policies.
One such policy, enacted to thwart terrorism while addressing elements that required non-kinetic actions to go side by side with kinetic ones, is the National Prevention of Violent Extremism Policy (NPVE). Launched in February last year it is designed to combat violent extremism through unconventional tools like school curricula, religious guidance and social media outreach, in addition to the use of military might.
The policy promotes a “whole-of-society” strategy, aimed at combating extremism through a 5-R approach (Revisit, Reach Out, Reduce Risk, Reinforce, Reintegrate), while focusing on some of the root causes including education, and rehabilitation.
Devised to tackle the ideological roots of militancy through non-military means alongside security operations, it formulates the national narrative against terrorism and extremism.
After more than a year since its inception though, NPVE, often managed alongside the National Counter violent Extremism Policy, NCVEP, needs to be implemented more vehemently, while addressing all of the goals that fall under its ambit more forcefully and with complete honesty and dedication. Though, in response to the policy, provincial frameworks have come up with focus areas identified and review mechanisms in place, much is still desired in terms of implementation and practice.
The hitherto ignored issues like the Balochistan reconciliation process, intensive reforms in the criminal justice system, CT-related prosecutions, and capacity building of security institutions, listed in NPVE, have yet to be managed and taken to result-yielding levels.
What makes addressing these affairs even more consequential is that the NPVE document reflects on social and ideological issues, components that catch the eye of the intelligentsia and international donors that invest in counterterrorism and counter-extremism initiatives in the country.
As the Global Terrorism Index report 2026 notes that KP and Balochistan remain most affected by terrorism, accounting for “over 74% of terrorist attacks and 67% of deaths in 2025”, the need for Balochistan reconciliation and similar settlement plans rises with an indisputable urgency, not only to deter terrorist attacks to save lives and infrastructure but also to improve our ranking on the Global Terrorism Index.
External challenges like a hostile neighbourhood, and currently the Iran war, may not be directly in our control, but what is in control is to mend political rifts and embrace, educate and uplift the somewhat estranged and sidelined populations of Balochistan and KP for more strategic and indigenous solutions to the curse of militancy.
Research repeatedly shows how important input from the local populations, where terrorist attacks frequent, is in order to devise effective counter-strategies that can work well in those areas. Strengthening local governments in these areas, in particular, is imperative as security officials have often identified local governance issues as a contributor to the security vacuum. Another compelling reason why we need to strengthen our local bodies and governance systems.
With the TTP having emerged as the “deadliest” terror group in Pakistan and the third deadliest globally, Pakistan has witnessed the substantial rise in terrorism that has shot it up to the top, despite a global “substantial fall” in incidents of terrorism. Globally, the number of attacks has decreased by nearly 22%, while deaths from global terrorism have fallen by 28%, according to the GTI report.
Pakistan needs to combine kinetic approaches with non-kinetic efforts to counter the monster of terrorism.