Change in tactics: 2023 saw terrorist groups place Pakistan army, police in crosshairs

NEW DELHI: From a severe financial crisis that saw food stampedes kill dozens across the country to a political crisis that sparked fears that the army might overthrow the government, 2023 was a tumultuous year for Pakistan. Despite the myriad cliff-edge crises, the outgoing year will be remembered for the high number of terrorist attacks the country witnessed, particularly targeting security personnel and apparatus.

Two of the most violent attacks this year were carried out by the regional affiliate of ISIL (ISIS), the Islamic State in Khorasan Province or ISKP (ISIS-K).

In July, it targeted a political rally in Bajaur, a tribal district neighbouring Afghanistan, killing more than 60 people. It was also behind a major blast in Mastung city of Balochistan in September that killed more than 50 people.

While the ISKP chose to target civilians in the few attacks it conducted, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other newer terror groups have singled out security personnel.

With alleged backing from the Taliban, terrorist groups have seemingly changed their tactics compared to the campaigns of a decade ago. Rather than attacking civilians in the cities, they have chosen to focus on military and police personnel. This has resulted in disturbingly high casualty rates amongst security personnel.

According to data from the South Asia Terrorism Portal, Pakistan witnessed 517 fatal terror attacks till December 25, 2023 -- the highest in 8 years.


Significantly, the number of security personnel killed in the attacks is the highest in 10 years.

New terror groups targeting army, police

A total of 25 Pakistani army soldiers were killed in three separate incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on December 13, marking the military’s highest single-day death toll from terrorist attacks reported so far this year.


Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a new group affiliated with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The TJP was formed only in February this year but has already carried out nearly a dozen deadly terror attacks. What makes the group specially dangerous is that it has focussed on attacking only military targets, going so far as to condemn any terror attacks that end up killing civilians.

The group targeted a Pakistani Air Force airbase in Mianwali city in November and in another attack this year in Zhob city of Balochistan it killed at least 14 army personnel.

In January, at least 100 people, mostly policemen, were killed in the worst attack of the year, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a mosque in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The attack was claimed by a TTP splinter group, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.
Rising tension with Afghanistan

Lending weight to Pakistan's repeated accusation that the Taliban regime in Afghanistan is providing safe haven for the terror groups targeting Pakistan, the bulk of the attacks in the country have targeted two provinces – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the northwest and Balochistan in the southwest.

Almost 93% of the total attacks took place in these two provinces, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the worst affected province, witnessing over 400 attacks since November 2022 when the TTP walked out of the ceasefire with the government.

In October, Pakistan decided to expel more than 1.5 million Afghans allegedly living without documents raising further tension with the Taliban administration.

Pakistani officials on numerous occasions this year also threatened to conduct cross-border attacks on TTP hideouts in Afghanistan. However, no attacks have been confirmed from either Pakistan or the Taliban government.