NL: From patron to prey: The rise and fragmentation of Pak’s terror landscape

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s remarks during a live news interview, that his country has been doing “dirty work” for the West for the last three decades, was a stunning admission on Islamabad’s long history of supporting, training and funding terrorist organisations. A decade ago, former army chief and president General Pervez Musharraf made a similar confession on public television, bragging about Pakistan’s role in supporting and training militant groups in Kashmir’s freedom struggle. 

Pakistan’s identity as a fountainhead of terror and a safe haven for various militant groups is a well-documented and widely acknowledged reality.

Terrorism has been deeply embedded in Pakistan transforming into a ‘breeding ground’ of armed militants, several jihadi and terror groups of conflicting ideologies since the 1980s. From arming the Afghan Mujahideen under the CIA’s Operation Cyclone to raising militant groups to fight in Kashmir, allying with the United States on the War on Terror, to facing threats from domestic militant groups, Pakistan’s involvement with terrorism has been deeply convoluted and strategic. 

Even as the Indian armed forces fired missiles at nine locations in Punjab and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir to neutralise terror sites, the terror infrastructure of various armed militant groups operating within the country remains entrenched and intact. Dismantling and eradicating the entrenched terror infrastructure remains a herculean challenge, given its deep-rooted networks, ideological support bases, and financial links with the all-powerful military establishment.

“Pakistan’s military establishment wields tremendous influence due to its huge stake in the so-called ‘economic-industrial complex and control over financial levers,” notes Col Rajeev Agarwal, former director of military intelligence and senior consultant at the Chintan Research Foundation in Delhi.  

He adds that Pakistan has used its financial leverage to use militant groups as strategic assets or to suppress them as and when required, enabling it to maintain its supremacy in the domestic power hierarchy as well as to exert power and influence externally against its neighbours India, Afghanistan and even Iran. 

“To weaken the terror infrastructure under the military’s control, it will be crucial to choke the economic lines that would hurt their business networks and military assets – creating a cascading effect,” he said.    

The terror landscape in Pakistan spans the entire country, encompassing a diverse array of armed militant, fundamentalist and separatist groups, the majority of which are united by Islamist extremist ideology. Jihadi groups like al-Qaeda, Islamic State-Khorasan Province are active in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the North West; the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, known as the Durand Line has a strong presence of Taliban, Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, whereas in Balochistan and separatist groups like the Baloch Liberation Army and Baloch Liberation Front conduct attacks against varied targets in Balochistan and Sindh provinces. 

According to the 2023 US Congressional Research Services Report, Pakistan is home to 15 armed militant groups, of which 12 are proscribed as Foreign Terrorist Organisations. They are categorised as India- and Kashmir-centric, Afghan focussed, domestic militants, sectarian and global jihadi groups. 

The India- and Kashmir-focused groups like LeT, JeM, Hizbul Mujahideen, Harakat-ul-Jihad Islami, and Harakat-ul-Mujahidin; Afghanistan-oriented factions like Afghan Taliban, and global jihadist networks like AQ, AQIS and IS-KP, form the external component of the militant eco-system. Whereas on the domestic front, there are insurgent and extremist groups such as TTP – an alliance of extremist groups, the BLA and BLF, Jaish al-Adl, and sectarian outfits like Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. 

Italian researcher and Director of Research of The Khorasan Diary, Riccardo Valle, who tracks jihadist movements in the region, said the terror groups are polarised and heterogeneous, following different objectives, ideologies, separate operations and command structures. For instance, the AQ and Taliban are ideologically at odds with the ISKP; the Taliban harbours and actively supports the TTP, which routinely conducts attacks across the border in Pakistan. 

“There is widespread support within Pakistan towards the so-called Kashmir cause, and the actions of Kashmiri militant groups due to sentimental reasons and historic grievances. But groups such as the TTP, Baloch separatists, and anti-Shia outfits pose significant threats to the country’s internal security,” he says. 

Pakistan has borne the brunt of domestic terrorism since 2003, when it began cracking down on extremist groups as part of its participation in the US-led War on Terror. It has faced severe backlash from domestic militant groups who have conducted large-scale bombings in schools, markets, mosques and against the security establishments and civilians, resulting in large-scale casualties. 

In 2023, the country recorded the highest number of terrorist incidents globally, with 490 attacks. The violence continued into 2024 with rising military escalation; in the first eight months alone, 757 people were killed and nearly as many injured, according to data from the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).

Animesh Roul, executive director of the New Delhi-based think-tank, Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict, says the Pakistani security establishment faces threats from several militant groups, except for the Kashmir-centric groups. “The military has nurtured Kashmiri groups with funds, arms and training for decades, and Rawalpindi has full control over them. They have never carried out any terrorist activities within the country. But others like ISKP and TTP have different goals, like establishing an Islamic State and overthrowing the Pakistani government.”

Pakistan has faced diplomatic isolation because of being a safe haven for extremist groups. But despite overwhelming evidence on Pakistan’s use of armed militants to advance its foreign policy and domestic political goals, Islamabad has managed to evade being listed as “State Sponsor of Terrorism,” resulting in sweeping sanctions, including restrictions on foreign aid, bans on arms sales, and controls. 

India’s attempts to mobilise the international community to act against Pakistan or designate it as a state sponsor of terrorism at the United Nations have been consistently and systematically thwarted by its ally, China. Pakistan’s geo-strategic location and role as a key strategic partner in regional security dynamics and logistical support in Afghanistan have also deterred the US and NATO countries from taking harsher measures. 

Read the Complete article here by Shweta Desai, NewsLaundry, 09 May, 2025.