Afghan Taliban's return makes Pakistan most affected by terrorism

The International Crisis Group (ICG) says Pakistan has been the most affected country since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021. According to the institution, although a ceasefire is currently in place, if militant actions continue, Islamabad could launch another attack.
The independent and non-profit think tank based in Brussels, founded by prominent global figures, said in its latest report that relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply, mainly due to the Afghan Taliban's refusal to act against the Pakistani Taliban.
There has been a significant increase in violence in Pakistan since 2022. In 2025 alone, militants killed more than 600 Pakistani military and police personnel, most of them in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which border Afghanistan.
Islamabad blames the banned TTP and Baloch militant groups for the attacks, saying they have evidence that these groups are supported by Pakistan's rival India.
According to the Brussels-based think tank, if militant attacks continue, Islamabad could again take action in Afghanistan.
The report quotes UN monitors as saying that the TTP has the support of the Taliban, although the Taliban denies this and claims that Pakistani militants are not present in Afghanistan, calling the violence an internal issue for Pakistan.
After a TTP attack on the western border on October 8 killed 11 Pakistani soldiers, Islamabad launched cross-border air strikes, including the first on Kabul, which apparently targeted TTP leader Noor Wali Mehsud. Afghanistan retaliated with attacks on Pakistani military installations, resulting in the loss of military and civilian lives on both sides.
The report warns that if another attack is traced back to Afghanistan, Islamabad could respond strongly again.
Although the Taliban government is militarily weak, its response could also be deadly. Kabul claims to have missiles that can reach Pakistani cities, the use of which would likely prompt a very strong response from Pakistan.
The report lists Afghanistan-Pakistan, Myanmar, Israel and the US versus Iran, Israel-Palestine, Syria, Ukraine, Mali and Burkina Faso, Ethiopia-Eritrea, Sudan, and Venezuela as the 10 conflicts to watch in 2026.
According to the report, the world had already entered a dangerous period before Donald Trump's return to the White House. So far, his second term has accelerated rather than slowed down conditions. 2025 proved to be a bloody year, and there are no signs that 2026 will be any better.