Latest Articles about Pakistan
Islamabad’s Umme Hassan: Female Mobilizer and Jihadist Inspirer at the Red Mosque
In a video statement on November 24, 2014, burka clad students of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid-affiliated (Red Mosque) female seminary, Jamia-e-Hafsa, pledged allegiance to Islamic State amir Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. It was shocking, as the all-girls madrassa had long been known for supporting al-Qaeda and the... MORE
Following the Peshawar School Attack, Pakistan Moves Against Domestic Terrorism
The attack by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16 was a watershed moment in the country’s fight against terrorism. The death of 132 children transcended preconceived boundaries between civil and military or Sunni and Shi’a, creating space for... MORE
Hafiz Saeed Khan: Leading the Islamic State’s Violent Agenda in Afghanistan and Pakistan
In January 2015, the Islamic State’s chief spokesperson, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, announced the establishment of Wilayat Khurasan, covering a geographical region that roughly includes Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of Central Asia and India. In an audio message titled “Die in Your Rage!,” al-Adnani stated that... MORE
A Profile of Pakistani Taliban Spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan
December 16, 2014 marked the single worst terror attack in Pakistani history. The assault led by members of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on the Army Public School in Peshawar claimed the lives of 141 people, 132 of whom were school children (BBC, December 16, 2014).... MORE
Umar Mansoor: The Mastermind of the Peshawar School Attack
The targeting of children at the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16, 2014 by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has heralded a new era of terrorism in Pakistan. The brutal and coldblooded murder of 141 people, most of them students in the ninth grade, is... MORE
The Pakistani Taliban after the Peshawar School Attack
The dramatic December 16 attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar by the Fazlullah faction of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP-F) brought renewed global attention to the TTP, a grouping of more than 40 separate terrorist and militant organizations. The attack was carried out by six... MORE
Assessing China’s Afghan Peace Play
Breaking with decades of distancing itself from Afghanistan’s various armed conflicts, the Chinese government has offered to facilitate peace talks between the Afghan national government and the Afghan Taliban insurgency movement. On November 29, Sun Yuxi, China’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, for the first time... MORE
Lashkar-e-Zil: Al-Qaeda’s ‘Shock and Awe’ Force
One effect of the rise of the Islamic State organization is that its rival al-Qaeda has had to try harder to attract global attention, funding, and recruits. The establishment of a new al-Qaeda branch, al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, is one major step taken by... MORE
Sino-Indian Joint Military Exercises: Out of Step
The Indian and Chinese militaries will participate in joint counter-terrorism exercises on November 16–27, in the western Indian city of Pune. The exercises will quickly follow Chinese President Xi Jinping’s three-day visit to India in September, which was intended as an economic summit with Indian... MORE
Apocalyptic Jihadist: Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent Chief Aasim Umar
Following years of futile attempts and intermittent incitements to South Asia’s teeming Muslim communities, the transnational terrorist group al-Qaeda finally formalized its operational presence in the region on September 3, 2014, by announcing the formation of a dedicated jihadist wing called Qaedat al-jihad fi Shabhi... MORE