Why Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan terror group poses gravest threat yet to Pak army

NEW DELHI: Twenty-five Pakistani army soldiers were killed in three separate incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday, marking the military’s highest single-day death toll from terrorist attacks reported so far this year.

Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a new group affiliated with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Only military targets
The TJP was formed only in February this year but has already carried out nearly a dozen deadly terror attacks.


What makes the group specially dangerous is that it has focussed on attacking only military targets, going so far as to condemn any terror attacks that end up killing civilians.

While TTP's attacks have often had many civilian casualties, the TJP has reportedly only targeted and killed military personnel. The TJP has stated that it aimed to establish an Islamic system in Pakistan through armed jihad.


The TJP has claimed responsibility for several attacks on security forces and installations in Pakistan, and has killed over 50 soldiers.

Notable incidents include an attack on the military camp of the Pakistani Frontier Corps in Balochistan, an assault on an under-construction college in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), and another attack in the town of Kabal, also in KPK.
Notable incidents:

• Bolan suicide bombing: In March, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeted a security vehicle in Quetta, Balochistan, resulting in the death of nine security personnel and the injury of 13 others.
• 2023 Muslim Bagh attack: In May, the TJP launched an assault on a military compound in Balochistan's Muslim Bagh district, leading to the deaths of six militants and seven soldiers.
• On July 12, an attack occurred at the Zhob garrison in Balochistan, where nine Pakistani army soldiers and five militants lost their lives in the ensuing clashes with security forces, with TJP claiming responsibility for the initial attack.
• In a high-profile incident, the TJP claimed responsibility for an attack on the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Training Air Base Mianwali in early November. The attack, carried out by nine heavily armed militants, resulted in damage to three phased-out, non-operational aircraft. The PAF successfully eliminated all nine militants, preventing further damage to the airbase.

TJP's activities, along with those of other militant groups, have contributed to a rising number of attacks on Pakistani security forces.

The loss of security personnel reached an eight-year high in the first nine months of 2023, with significant casualties among both army and police personnel.


In the third quarter of 2023 Pakistan had seen over 190 terrorist acts and at least 445 Pakistani armed forces got killed by groups such as Pakistani Taliban and Tehreek-e-Jihad.