The sudden rise of Islamic State’s Khurasan Chapter (IS-K, or Waliyat-e-Khurasan) in September 2014 took the security policymakers of Pakistan and Afghanistan by surprise. The global Islamist terrorist organization was able to find immediate support from local and regional Islamist terrorist groups operating in the... MORE

Iraq: Basra Protests Protests that first began in July and intensified in early September have wreaked havoc on Iraq’s port city of Basra. The unrest—motivated by protesting government corruption, and shortages of electricity, jobs and clean water—began shortly after the country’s inconclusive parliamentary elections produced... MORE

With the fall of Mosul in July 2014, the Islamic State (IS) started to spread its tentacles, luring in Islamist terrorist groups all over the world. This includes many groups previously aligned with al-Qaeda. The IS spokesperson, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, called upon all Islamist groups... MORE

Pakistan’s new prime minister, Imran Khan, announced, on September 5, the formation of a Cabinet Committee on Energy to address Pakistan’s growing energy demands (Dawn, September 5). Although Khan looks to distance himself from his predecessor, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, one policy he will likely continue... MORE

Pakistan’s recent national and provincial assemblies’ elections saw a significant number of candidates from religious extremist and terrorist outfits campaign. None of them won seats to Pakistan’s National Assembly and only two managed to win seats to the Sindh provincial assembly. On the surface, the... MORE

News of the death of Mullah Fazalullah, the most wanted man in Pakistan and Emir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan brought a sigh of relief to many in Pakistan (The Hindu, June 15). Up until his death, the notorious... MORE

Mullah Fazlullah, the notorious Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) emir, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in June, along with four of his commanders, in the Marawar district of Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan (Tolo News, June 15). With Fazlullah gone, the group will likely change... MORE

Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, the firebrand founder of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its charity front Jamaat ud Dawa (JuD), remains free in Pakistan. Legendary for his anti-Western and anti-India rhetoric, Saeed is known for his longstanding obsession and support for the Kashmir militant movement.... MORE

Barelvi sect extremism has recently emerged as a new phenomenon in extremism in Pakistan. It is unique in that Pakistanis are accustomed to various Deobandi and Salafist militant groups carrying out violence in the Sunni-majority country but not to Barelvi sect adherents. For their part,... MORE

On May 16, the Indian government announced a unilateral ceasefire in the restive northern state of Jammu and Kashmir. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the security forces will not launch operations in Kashmir during the Islamic holy month of... MORE