ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported a steep rise in terrorist attacks and cross-border infiltration from Afghanistan, citing verified intelligence and UN assessments.
Officials say the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) gained new space and operational ease after the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021. Many TTP militants had fled to Afghanistan during Pakistan’s military operations. Malakand commander Mullah Fazlullah escaped with his group to Afghanistan, and his loyalists remain active there, striking inside Pakistan. Several militant factions continue to enjoy protection under the Taliban government, officials claim.
Terror attacks in Pakistan surged after August 2021. Security data shows 207 attacks in 2021, 262 in 2022, 306 in 2023 and 1,099 in 2024 — a sharp indicator of worsening security.
Pakistan has identified 58 TTP and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) training camps, staging sites and safe houses inside Afghanistan. Officials say Kabul is fully aware of these facilities.
Since June 2025, about 4,000 fighters in 172 formations have crossed from Afghanistan into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — a rise of 36% in formations and 48% in personnel.
Militant infiltration into Balochistan has used routes through Zabul, Paktika, Kandahar, Helmand and Nimroz. Pakistan estimates that 83 formations, nearly 1,200 fighters, moved through these corridors.
From April to September 2025, Pakistani forces killed 135 Afghan nationals in operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Pakistan has confirmed the identities and deaths of 267 Afghan militants so far.
Afghan nationals carried out suicide bombings in Peshawar, Bannu, Bisham, Mir Ali and Dera Ismail Khan between 2022 and 2025, killing dozens of Pakistani civilians.
Officials say Afghanistan has become the safest sanctuary for anti-Pakistan militants, in violation of the Doha Agreement. They report that TTP operates across several Afghan provinces, with a stronger presence near the border. The group maintains entrenched bases in Kunar, Nangarhar, Khost, Paktika, Kandahar, Helmand and other areas where it plans attacks.
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Key TTP hubs include Barmal in Paktika and Spin Boldak and Shah Wali Kot in Kandahar, senior security officials say.
A UN report estimates that TTP has between 6,000 and 10,000 fighters. It states that the group has faced fewer constraints and gained new facilities since the Taliban takeover in 2021.
