Terror attacks intensify in Pakistan as the TTP continues to operate from Afghanistan

The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan (TTP) launched two suicide attacks in Pakistan between November 10–11, including a suicide bombing at a courthouse in the capital of Islamabad that killed 12 people. Pakistani government and military officials continued to blame India for the attacks and claim the TTP is an Indian-sponsored terror group.

The first attack, a suicide assault, took place on November 10 at the Cadet College in Wana in South Waziristan, a Taliban hotbed along the border with Afghanistan. According to Pakistani officials, a five-man TTP suicide assault team conducted the attack on the military cadet school. A suicide bomber detonated his vehicle laden with explosives at the gate of the college, creating a breach that the other members of the team used to enter the facility.

The Pakistani military claims to have killed all the members of the suicide assault team. Two attackers were reportedly killed at the gate, and three more were killed on the college premises.

The next day, a suicide bomber detonated his vest outside of a district court in Islamabad, killing 12 people and wounding 36. The bomber detonated his explosives near a police vehicle after failing to find a way to enter the courthouse undetected.

Pakistan blames “Fitna al Khwarij”

Pakistani officials again blamed “Fitna al Khwarij” and “Fitna al Hindustan,” two non-existent groups purportedly supported by India, for both attacks. Khwarij are heretical or extremist Muslims who rebel against the mainstream Muslim community.

In a statement released by Pakistan’s government and attributed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Islamabad attack was carried out “by the khawarij active with Indian support and the Fitna al-Hindustan,” according to Dawn. Shehbaz also pinned the blame for the Wana Cadet College attack squarely on India.

“Khawarij, active on Indian instigation from Afghanistan, also attacked innocent children in Wana at this time; it is time for the world to condemn such nefarious conspiracies of India,“ the statement said. “Both attacks are the worst examples of Indian state terrorism in the region.”

Pakistan’s military also stated that “Khwarij belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al Khwarij” executed the suicide assault in Wana, and it holds the Afghan Taliban responsible for sheltering the attackers.

“This blatant act of barbarism orchestrated by Khwarij from Afghanistan is in contrast to assertions made by Afghan Taliban Regime claiming non presence of these terrorist groups on their soil,” the statement from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations, the official public relations wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces, continued. “Pakistan reserves the right to respond against terrorists and their leadership present in Afghanistan.”

“Fitna al Khwarij” is a result of Pakistan’s sponsorship of the Afghan Taliban

Tensions between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban increased after the collapse of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the ascension of Afghan Taliban rule in August 2021. The Pakistani state backed the Afghan Taliban in its effort to take over Afghanistan. However, the TTP, which is an enemy of the Pakistani state, is supported by the Afghan Taliban and seeks to establish its own Islamic Emirate in Pakistan, just as the Afghan Taliban succeeded in doing in Afghanistan. The TTP, using Afghanistan as a safe haven, has intensified its attacks on the Pakistani state. 

Beginning in 2024, the Pakistani government and military began referring to the TTP as the Fitna al Khwarij and describing the group as an “Indian proxy.” This is likely an effort by Pakistan to blame India for its jihadist woes, which, in many ways, are a direct result of Pakistan’s support for jihadist groups in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. [For more information on Pakistan’s historical support for the Afghan Taliban and the rise of the TTP, see the LWJ report: Analysis: Pakistan attempts to shift blame for TTP attacks toward India.]

However, there is no evidence that Fitna al Khwarij or Fitna al Hindustan exists. These purported groups do not maintain websites or social media accounts, nor do they issue statements claiming their attacks. The TTP does issue claims of its attacks, including those attributed to Fitna al Khwarij by the Pakistanis.

Pakistan has also directed its anger at the Afghan Taliban over the rising terror attacks. Pakistani leaders had hoped that the Afghan Taliban would restrain the TTP after taking control of Afghanistan, but it hasn’t done so. The Afghan Taliban continue to deny that it provides the TTP shelter or that the group operates from Afghan soil.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD’s Long War Journal.