In August 2021, the Taliban acquisition of Kabul sent shockwaves beyond the borders of Afghanistan with Pakistan – already ignored by extremist and militant groups – especially hard hit.
The Taliban victory raised a series of armed groups in Pakistan, in which religious extremists discover Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), local allies of the so-called Islamic State, known as ISKP and Baloch separators.
Safir Seal, an expert at Islamabad -based Pak Institute for Peace (PIPS), said, “Thesis groups have shifted regional mobility to intensify their rebels against the Pakistani state, pose a threat to national security.”
“On the one hand, TTP and ISKP have intensified their terrorist terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Baloch Ethno-Sappertist Group, mainly Baloch Liberation Army, have become rapidly refined in their operational capabilities, which both target Pakistani military personnel and Chinese nationals, which are connected to Chinese belt and road inresting (BILIS) Are.”
Thesis development indicates the convergence of many dangers with various agendas, all are gaining momentum at the same time.
“With relative peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan has become a terrorist activity,” a faction of TTP, including Hafiz Gul Bahadur -led Pakistani terrorist group, a faction of TTP that used to carry out its attacks only in Afghanistan.
Resurrection of terrorist attacks in Pakistan
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The group fractured the splinter groups, many of which were pushed out of Pakistan and pushed into the Afghan border provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar and Khost.
As a result, there was a sharp decline in terrorist incidents in Pakistan. According to data from the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), 146 attacks in 2020 fell to 1.717 attacks in 2013 in 1.717 attacks in 1.717 attacks.
However, the start of US Taliban peace talks in 2020 gave TTP a fresh purpose. Several splashes, starting in July 2020, broke Sion 2014, began to reconsider the TTP umbrella. This reconstruction attracted the support of al-Qaeda colleagues and other jihadi institutions working in Pakistan.
According to PIPS data, Pakistan was experienced in both the frequency and intensity of terrorist attacks after the Taliban returns to power in August 2021. By 2024, the level of violence returned to the same levels as 2015 and before.
A United Nations report from July 2025 states that TTP has received “logistic and operational support” from Taliban authorities in Kabul.
Pakistan’s difficult neighbor
The segments of Pakistan’s political and civilian leadership come back to power in the Taliban, seeing it as a possible strategic in the region.
However, this optimism quickly turned into anxiety over Afghan Taliban’s close ties with TTP.
For Islamabad-based analyst, Tahir Khan said, “The inability of the Taliban administration in Kabul is quite tense in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations in the last four years to take concrete action against TTP.”
In response, Pakistan has adopted a rapidly strong measures to pressurize the Taliban administration to pressure action, including cross -border aerial attacks, targeting suspected TTP sanctuaries in East Afghanistan. Kabul -based researcher Hazrat Ali said, but this strategy can have unknown results.
“Under the pressure of Islamabad, a crack on TTP may risk fracturing the ranks of the Taliban and even a major rival of the Taliban, can also run some TTP elements towards ISKP,” Ali told DW.
Sion September 2023, the Pakistani government has expelled over 1 million Afghan refugees and tightened trade restrictions on Afghanistan, which is very much dependent on Pakistani ports.
Thesis Moves has introduced new obstacles in diplomatic efforts to reset the relationship.
Recently, however, there are fresh diplomatic overtrators indicating a temporary melting in bilateral relations, including high-level visits by Pakistani authorities as sub-foreign Ishaq Dar in April and internal Mohsin Naqvi in July.
Analyst Khan said that Pakistan has recently provided trade facility by reducing Tiff and reducing boundary control for Afghans.
“, Nevertheless, the issue of TTP has been revealed, effectively addressed, meaningful improvement in bilateral relations will remain elusive,” he said.
Unlike 1996, when Pakistan rapidly recognized the previous repetition of the Taliban rule, the current reference is far more complex. Islamabad hesitates, even though Russia has recently become the first and the only country that formally recognized the Taliban government.
“The recognition of the Taliban remains a distant possibility,” Khan said.
“Islamabad has also not upgraded the IT diplomatic engagement with Kabul and continues with the height of the IT, which leads D’farers to the level of full ambassador, which is largely due to frequent concerns over TTP.”
Edited by: Wesley Rahan
