Pakistan on Tuesday described 2025 as a “landmark and consequential year” in its long-running fight against terrorism, alleging that Afghan nationals were involved in all major high-impact terrorist attacks carried out in the country during the year.
A top military spokesman said the country’s counterterrorism operations reached an “unprecedented intensity” in 2025, alongside a growing national consensus on the nature of the threat facing Pakistan.
“The state has always had clarity about terrorism, and over time this clarity has permeated society,” Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhary said at a Press briefing.
Pakistan has battled militant violence along its western border since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, as regional geopolitical shifts have allowed militant groups to grow in strength and number. The situation worsened following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, with militant organizations operating more freely from Afghan territory and launching intensified attacks inside Pakistan.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained strained, marked by severe border skirmishes last year and the continued suspension of bilateral trade.
Lt Gen Chaudhary said militant groups had “no connection whatsoever to Islam, Pakistan, or the people of Balochistan.”
He referred to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as Fitna-al-Khawarij and Balochistan-based militant outfits as Fitna-al-Hindustan, terms reflecting Islamabad’s claim of external sponsorship behind the violence, particularly from India.
The United Nations and international intelligence assessments have determined that Afghanistan had become a “base for terrorist operations.”
Speaking in the context, the spokesman alleged that militant groups operating from Afghan soil—including the TTP, Islamic State, and others—were being supported and directed by the Afghan Taliban.
According to military data, Pakistani law enforcement agencies conducted 75,175 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in 2025—an average of 206 per day. Of these, 14,658 were carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 58,778 in Balochistan, and 1,739 in other parts of the country.
A total of 5,397 terrorist incidents were recorded during the year, with 71 per cent occurring in KP and 29 per cent in Balochistan. The military reported that 2,597 militants were killed nationwide, while 1,235 civilians and security personnel were martyred.
Pakistan also witnessed 27 suicide attacks in 2025—16 in KP, 10 in Balochistan, and one in Islamabad. Two of the attacks involved female suicide bombers.
Tracing the latest resurgence of militancy to developments in Afghanistan following the 2021 Doha Agreement, Lt Gen Chaudhary recalled that the Afghan Taliban had pledged to form an inclusive government, prevent the use of Afghan soil for terrorism, and safeguard women’s rights.
“None of these commitments were fulfilled,” he said, arguing that Afghanistan had instead become a hub for militants and non-state actors. He claimed that approximately 2,500 foreign militants had recently entered Afghanistan from Syria.
The ISPR chief further alleged that the Afghan Taliban were reorganizing, training, and directing the TTP, describing them as the group’s “mother organization.”
He also pointed to what he termed a growing “war economy,” citing international reports that dwindling reconstruction funds had pushed militant groups to expand violence across the region in search of new financial resources.
Lt Gen Chaudhary accused India of being the “largest patron” of terrorism in Pakistan, alleging that New Delhi provided financial, technical, and logistical support to militant groups operating from Afghan territory. He also claimed that advanced US military equipment left behind in Afghanistan—estimated to be worth $7.2 billion—had entered black markets and fallen into the hands of terrorist organizations.
India has not responded to the latest allegations. In the past, however, New Delhi has rejected similar claims, though some leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have publicly issued aggressive statements to hurt Pakistan from all sides.
Muhammad Luqman is Associate Editor at Views News Now. He writes on wide-ranging issues including economy, South Asia, the Middle East, agriculture, economy and innovation. Luqman has worked some of the leading news organizations and won acclaim for his original and research-based works.
