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Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)

Militant organization

Appears in 2 stories

Stories

Pakistan and Afghanistan locked in escalating cross-border military cycle

Force in Play

Core issue behind Pakistan's 'open war' declaration against Taliban government

Pakistan and Afghanistan are now in open conflict after a ceasefire agreed in October 2025 collapsed amid escalating cross-border violence. Pakistan launched air strikes on Afghan soil five days ago in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces—killing at least 17 civilians according to Kabul—and escalated dramatically today with warplanes bombing Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia provinces. Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared that the country would wage 'open war' against the Taliban government, citing its alleged sheltering of Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP) militants responsible for a surge in attacks inside Pakistan, including a February 6 mosque bombing in Islamabad that killed 32.

Updated Feb 22

Pakistan's escalating sectarian violence against Shia Muslims

Force in Play

Primary suspect in Islamabad mosque bombing; operating from Afghan sanctuaries

Pakistan has not seen a suicide bombing in its capital since 2016. That changed in November 2025, when an attacker killed 12 outside an Islamabad court. Two days ago, on February 6, 2026, a suicide bomber walked into a Shia mosque during Friday prayers and killed 31 worshippers, wounding 169 more. The attack on Khadija Tul Kubra mosque was the deadliest in Islamabad since the 2008 Marriott Hotel bombing that killed 63.

Updated Feb 8