Pakistan is now the worst victim of terrorism, says the Global Terrorism Index 2026, published in March. The Index was compiled in 2025 and has been released by a Sydney (Australia)-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).

Measuring the impact of terrorism, the report evaluated 163 countries (which constitute 99.7 percent of the world’s population) and has declared Pakistan the country most impacted by terrorism in 2025. The indicators used were: number of terrorist incidents, fatalities, injuries and hostages. The report says that since 2013, the number of deaths from terrorism is at its highest level, with 1,139 deaths in 1,045 incidents in 2025. The report also says that, in Pakistan, terrorism declined from 2014 to 2019. However, Pakistan experienced six times as many terrorist incidents in 2025 as in 2020. Deaths from terrorism are now at their highest level since 2013. With a 6 percent increase in terror-related deaths since 2020, Pakistan tops the Index. It is the first time that any report has ranked Pakistan at the top of such a list and considers Pakistan a victim of terrorism.

The report points out that the sources of a sharp resurgence in terrorist activity are twofold: first, strained relations with neighbouring countries, especially Afghanistan after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021; and second, rising violence from the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). The report also considers that the TTP and BLA pose significant security challenges to Pakistan,........

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