ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry on Wednesday warned the public of a terrorist group using WhatsApp channels to “disseminate hateful content and harmful narratives”, urging the platform and the global community to help Pakistan combat terrorism.
In a post on X, the state minister said the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations and the United States — was operating its WhatsApp channels and sending bulk messages to “proliferate its violent/hateful ideology, to spread its harmful narratives, and for glorification of its terror activities”.
The state minister requested the international community and WhatsApp to “cooperate to help us fight this menace”.
“These accounts must be blocked and necessary algorithms created to auto-detect and auto-suspend such handles/numbers,” he added.
On Sept 1, 2010, the US designated the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation , while the UN imposed sanctions on the entity on July 29, 2011 due to its affiliation with al-Qaeda. The sanctions include asset freezes, travel bans, and arms embargoes.
Founded in 2007, the TTP has staged a large number of attacks across Pakistan, leading to a ban on the group on August 24, 2008. It remains on the National Counter Terrorism Authority’s (Nacta) list of proscribed organisations.
According to data from the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), during the height of its insurgency in 2009, the group carried out 2,586 terrorist attacks and 3,021 fatalities. A large-scale military offensive launched in 2014 dealt a massive blow to the command and control structure of the group, dramatically reducing insurgent violence throughout Pakistan. Sporadic attacks targeting security forces, however, continued.
After holding several rounds of talks with the group, former prime minister Imran Khan’s government announced on November 8, 2022, that the group had agreed to a complete ceasefire . In November that year, however, the TTP called off the ceasefire, vowing to increase attacks on police and security personnel.
With the resurgence of the group, the country has witnessed an uptick in terror activities, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, mainly conducted by the TTP.
In July last year, the government designated the group as Fitna-al-Khawarij, while mandating all institutions to use the term khariji (outcast) when referring to the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on Pakistan. In Islamic history, the term refers to the period of conflict and discord caused by the Khawarij, an early Islamic sect known for their extreme interpretations of Islam and their rebellion against established authority.
Pakistan ranks second in the Global Terrorism Index 2025, with the number of deaths in terrorist attacks rising by 45 per cent over the past year to 1,081.
In December last year, the Pakistan Army said it conducted 59,775 operations against terrorists.
