Pakistan ranked second in Global Terrorism Index

ISLAMABAD: The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2025 has ranked Pakistan second in the list of countries most affected by terrorism with 14 per cent distribution of deaths in 2024.

Burkina Faso remains the country most impacted by terrorism this year, followed by Pakistan and Syria, according to the 12th annual GTI released on Wednesday.

The Global Terrorism Index 2025 published by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism over the last decade.

The report ranked 163 countries (99.7 per cent of the world’s population) according to the impact of terrorism. The indicators include the number of terrorist incidents, fatalities, injuries, and hostages.

As per the report, the number of deaths in Pakistan rose by 45 per cent due to terrorist attacks over the past year to 1,081. Niger has the largest increases in deaths from terrorism, with increases of 94 per cent.

The number of countries recording a terrorist attack increased from 58 to 66. While the report stated that deaths from terrorism decreased by 13 per cent from 2023 to 2024.

The report further indicated that the largest rises in terrorist activity since 2007 have occurred in Pakistan, Syria, and Mali.

This is the fifth consecutive year in which an increase in terrorism-related deaths has been recorded and the largest year-on-year increase in the last decade for Pakistan.

“Terrorism has increased significantly in Pakistan since the Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan, with the number of attacks increasing fivefold since 2021,” the report added.

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 attacks have exceeded 1,000 since the inception of the Index.

The most recent surge in terrorism in Pakistan was primarily driven by increased activity from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is aligned with the Afghan Taliban. “Deaths attributed to the group nearly doubled between 2023 and 2024.”

The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) emerged as the fastest-growing terrorist group, with a 90 per cent increase in attributed deaths. The TTP remains the deadliest terrorist organisation in Pakistan for the second year. It was responsible for 52 per cent of deaths in Pakistan in 2024.

Last year, the TTP carried out 482 attacks, resulting in 558 deaths, an increase of 91 per cent from the 293 deaths in the preceding year.

The report further showed that the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) was responsible for Pakistan’s deadliest terror attack of 2024, when a suicide bomber killed at least 25 civilians and soldiers at Quetta railway station in Balochistan.

The BLA has openly opposed the government’s policies on resource extraction, citing the exploitation of Balochistan’s natural resources without equitable development or compensation for the local population.

The group has also targeted foreign investments, particularly Chinese initiatives under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which it claims marginalise the Baloch people.