A major surge in terror attacks and swelling number of civilian casualties has propelled Pakistan to the second spot in the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2025.

The latest GTI report, published by Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP), is a compilation of 163 countries worldwide, which make up for at least 99.7 per cent of the world’s population. GTI evaluates indicators, including the number of terrorist incidents, casualties, injuries and hostages, and their impact on terrorism.

The report reveals that the number of terrorism-related deaths in Pakistan have seen a consistent rise in the past five years with the largest year-on-year increase during the last 10 years and a massive surge of 45 per cent in terrorist attacks across the country during 2024.

“This trend is mirrored by a rise in the number of terror attacks, which more than doubled from 517 in 2023 to 1,099 in 2024. This is the first year that the attacks have exceeded 1,000 since the inception of the index,” read the report.

The banned terror outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has emerged as the fastest-growing group and the deadliest organisation in the country for the second consecutive year, with at least 90 per cent increase in attributed deaths.

During 2024, TTP carried out 482 attacks in Pakistan, resulting in 585 deaths, an increase of at least 91 per cent from the previous year that witnessed 293 deaths.

“TTP was responsible for 52 per cent of deaths in Pakistan in 2024. Pakistan has experienced a significant rise in terrorism since the Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan. Terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan have intensified their attacks, particularly along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The province of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) remain the most heavily affected regions, with these western border areas accounting for over 96 per cent of terrorist attacks and deaths in Pakistan during 2024,” the report mentioned.

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