ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has become the second-most affected country in the world by “terrorist” violence, with deaths rising 45 percent to 1,081 in 2024, primarily due to attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), according to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2025 released this week.
The 12th annual GTI report, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, an Australian-based global think tank, ranked 163 countries in 2024, covering 99.7 percent of the world’s population and analyzing the impact of militant activities worldwide.
Pakistan has witnessed a massive surge in militant violence, including deadly suicide attacks, in its two western provinces bordering Afghanistan. Officials in Islamabad have accused Afghan authorities in Kabul of harboring anti-Pakistan groups and “facilitating” cross-border attacks, an allegation denied by the Afghan government.
The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been mostly targeted by the TTP, while Balochistan remains in the crosshairs of BLA separatists.
“Burkina Faso remains the country most impacted by terrorism this year [2024], despite attacks and deaths falling by 57 and 21 percent respectively,” the report said on Wednesday. “A fifth of all terrorism deaths globally were in Burkina Faso, followed by Pakistan and Syria.”
“Niger and Pakistan had the largest increases in deaths from terrorism, with increases of 94 and 45 percent respectively,” it added.
The report noted the impact of militant violence had increased significantly in Pakistan, with the number of deaths rising by 45 percent over the past year to 1,081.
It said the TTP was responsible for 52 percent of deaths in the country in 2024, carrying out 482 attacks, which resulted in 558 casualties.
Attacks by Baloch militant groups, including the BLA, also increased sharply, rising from 116 in 2023 to 504 in 2024. Deaths surged more than fourfold to 388, from 88 in the previous year.
Pakistan has continued its fight against militant factions, with the government saying it has lost over 80,000 civilians and security personnel in the post-9/11 militant wave.
The GTI also noted that Daesh’s Khorasan chapter was evolving into one of the most active militant groups globally, expanding its operations beyond Afghanistan into Pakistan, Iran, Russia and Central Asia.
“It carries out more deadly attacks outside of Afghanistan than within, highlighting its growing transnational threat,” it said.
Global index ranks Pakistan as world’s second-most affected country by ‘terrorism’
https://arab.news/j6aqe
Global index ranks Pakistan as world’s second-most affected country by ‘terrorism’
- Prepared by an international think tank, the index reports a 45 percent rise in militancy-related deaths in Pakistan in 2024
- Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan conducted 482 attacks, while Balochistan Liberation Army was behind 504 attacks last year
Pakistan arrests suspect arriving from Cambodia amid crackdown on human smuggling
- Suspect worked at an “online fraud company” in Cambodia, later started smuggling people from Pakistan, says FIA
- Pakistan has intensified crackdown against human smugglers after hundreds of migrants drowned near Pylos in 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday said it had arrested a key suspect involved in smuggling humans who had arrived from Cambodia, alleging he was also part of an international fraud network.
The suspect, identified as Zainullah, was arrested by FIA officials when he arrived in the southern port city of Karachi from Cambodia.
Zainullah had traveled from Pakistan to Cambodia in September 2024, a press release issued by the agency said.
“He worked at an online fraud company in Cambodia and later became involved as an agent in recruiting individuals from Pakistan,” the FIA said.
The FIA said it recovered images of multiple individuals’ passports, payment receipts and bank transaction records after extracting data from Zainullah’s phone.
It said the suspect received money through personal bank accounts and a cryptocurrency account.
“The suspect has been handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Karachi, for further legal proceedings,” the FIA said.
“Further investigation is underway.”
Pakistan intensified action against illegal migration in 2023 after hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank off the Greek town of Pylos, one of the deadliest boat disasters in the Mediterranean.
Authorities say they continue to target networks sending citizens abroad through dangerous routes, following heightened scrutiny at airports and a series of arrests involving forged documents.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said this week illegal migration to Europe has declined by 47 percent this year after its nationwide crackdown, saying that more than 1,700 human smugglers have been arrested in 2025.
