NEW DELHI: Pakistan has replaced Burkina Faso as the world’s most terrorism-affected country in the latest Global Terrorism Index, while India saw a decline in both terror-related deaths and attacks, the Institute for Economics and Peace said.
Pakistan recorded 1,139 terrorism-related deaths and 1,045 incidents last year, marking a sixth straight year of rising fatalities.
The 2026 assessment links the deterioration to the resurgence of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and worsening instability along the Afghanistan border, adding that the Taliban’s return to power in 2021 “provided the TTP with the means and motivation to significantly expand their geographic reach and operational efficiency.”
Of the four deadliest terrorist organisations tracked globally, the TTP was the only one to record an increase in deaths in 2025.
Violence remained concentrated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which accounted for most of Pakistan’s fatalities. Hostage-taking also rose sharply, driven in part by the Balochistan Liberation Army’s hijacking of the Jaffar Express in March last year, during which 442 people were taken captive.
The Afghanistan-Pakistan borderlands remain a persistent flashpoint, with cross-border militant activity driving tensions between the two countries. This escalated into open conflict earlier this year, when Pakistan launched airstrikes on Kabul and Kandahar, accusing Afghan territory of sheltering Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan fighters.
The report warns such developments could “displace populations, weaken border controls and create the security vacuums in which groups such as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and Islamic State Khorasan Province have historically thrived.”
Meanwhile, India ranked 13th, moving up one place from the previous year. Terrorism-related deaths declined, and the country accounted for 2 percent of global fatalities. Terrorist attacks also fell by 43 percent.
Globally, terrorism trends improved sharply, with deaths falling 28 percent to 5,582 and incidents dropping nearly 22 percent to 2,944. As many as 81 countries improved, while only 19 deteriorated, the lowest since the index began.
However, the report warns that “given the current state of emerging global conflicts, a rise in terrorism is likely.”