Pakistan has emerged as the country most impacted by terrorism in the 2026 Global Terrorism Index, recording its highest number of terrorism-related deaths in more than a decade. Former Pakistani ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani reacted to the findings by linking the country’s worsening security situation to its past support for extremist groups.
The Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), which publishes the Global Terrorism Index, ranked Pakistan first with a score of 8.574, ahead of Burkina Faso. Pakistan recorded 1,139 terrorism-related deaths and 1,045 terrorist incidents in 2025, according to the report. The number of deaths was the highest recorded in the country since 2013 and marked the sixth consecutive year of increase. While the number of attacks fell slightly from 1,098 in 2024 to 1,045 in 2025, hostage-taking incidents rose sharply, from 101 to 655. Pakistan has featured among the 10 countries most affected by terrorism in every edition of the index. However, 2025 was the first year in which it occupied the top position. Worldwide, terrorism-related deaths fell 28 per cent in 2025 to 5,582, while the number of attacks dropped by nearly 22 per cent to 2,944. The IEP said 81 countries recorded improvements in their terrorism situation, while 19 saw a deterioration. Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounted for more than 74 per cent of terrorist attacks and 67 per cent of terrorism-related deaths in 2025, according to the IEP. The report attributes part of the rise in militant activity to the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021 and the subsequent increase in attacks along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. It was linked to 56 per cent of terrorism-related deaths in Pakistan in 2025. The group carried out 595 attacks that killed 637 people, with deaths attributed to the TTP rising 13 per cent from the previous year. The TTP was also ranked the world’s third-deadliest terrorist organisation in 2025, behind Islamic State and Jamaat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM). The report said TTP attacks have increased for four consecutive years, with all 595 attacks recorded in 2025 taking place in Pakistan, mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the Afghan border. The group was responsible for what the IEP described as Pakistan’s largest terrorist attack of 2025, when militants seized a passenger train after bombing railway tracks near Quetta and took 442 people hostage. The incident left 21 hostages, four military personnel and 33 terrorists dead, according to the report. Nearly 70 per cent of all terrorism deaths recorded globally in 2025 occurred in just five countries – Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Niger and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the IEP. Pakistan alone accounted for around 20 per cent of global terrorism-related deaths in 2025, according to the report’s country distribution data.
The TTP was Pakistan’s deadliest terrorist organisation for the fifth consecutive year, the report said. Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts, including Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, have had “limited success so far”, the report said. Sharing a graphic showing Pakistan at the top of the index on X, Haqqani wrote, “This is what happens when you keep snakes in the backyard of your house: one day, the household members get bitten too. Pakistan began arming extremist jihadists fifty years ago. Now Pakistan is at the very top among countries targeted by terrorist attacks. Is there anyone willing to learn a lesson? The rise came against a broader global decline in terrorism. Much of Pakistan’s terrorism activity remained concentrated in its western border regions. It also points to strained relations with neighbouring countries, along with growing violence by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), as major security challenges for Islamabad. Al-Shabaab was the fourth among the four deadliest groups identified by the IEP. The BLA’s growing activity was another major factor highlighted by the report. The IEP also noted that BLA attacks have increasingly focused on Chinese nationals and infrastructure, including projects associated with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The report also highlighted growing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad has accused the Afghan Taliban government of sheltering and supporting the TTP, an allegation denied by the Taliban authorities. The worsening security situation has come as Pakistan faces a broader concentration of terrorism-related deaths.
