Majlis-e-Askari Karwan: The Quiet Rise of a Flexible Taliban Faction

Majlis-e-Askari Karwan (MAK) is a Pakistani Taliban militant group that has steadily carved out space for itself among larger and more dominant factions. Known for its pragmatic strategy, MAK frequently collaborates with a ra...

Diplomacy on Thin Ice Pakistan-Afghanistan Talks Amidst Rising Tensions

The pattern has been too obvious, attacks, response and tepid reconciliation over the last four years – But what is new to this triangular conflict between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Non State Actors is that later has brought ...

The Balancing Act: East Turkistan Islamic Party Between Syria and Afghanistan

On March 5, the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) released a revised version of its organizational statute, announcing a return to its original name, the East Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIP). This name change, reportedly approved ...

Attacking the Haqqania: Islamic State Khorasan’s Expanding Ideological War

On February 28, 2025, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in the Haqqania Madrassa in Akora Khattak, Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. The explosion took place shortly after the principal of the seminary ...

Countries Move to Crack Down on Islamic State Khorasan Globally

Within the first weeks of June, several countries conducted a number of operations against Islamic State’s networks with links to the organization’s branch in the Khorasan region – Islamic State Khorasan (ISKP) –, namely Afgh...

Towards a New Phase of Militancy: Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s Overall Restructure

Since early 2023, the militant landscape in Pakistan has become quite intricate and evolved into a more complex dynamic, including the emergence of new groups; the alignment of different factions; and changes in policies by m...

Tajik Taliban Publishes Video Threatening Dushanbe after Attacks on Tajikistan

Dushanbe accused Jamaat Ansarullah jihadists of launching an armed incursion from Afghanistan into Tajikistan on September 6, clashing with security forces before being killed and their massive weapons cache was seized. Tajik...

TKD ANALYSIS: The Persistent Threat of Islamic State Khorasan (ISKP) Against Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) in Bajaur

At least 63 people were killed and more than 200 injured on July 30 after an explosion ripped through the tribal city of Khar in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s Bajaur district that borders Afghanistan. The suicide...

The Perplexing Credit Taking Dynamics within Militant Organizations

Early in the morning on July 12, 2023, a group of five militants belonging to the newly founded jihadist group, the Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), stormed a garrison post in Balochistan province’s Zhob district.The TJP immed...

TKD EXCLUSIVE – Who Was Ziauddin aka Mulla Muhammad aka Abu Saad Al-Khorasani?

Hours after a suicide bomber ripped through a busy Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Abu Saad Al-Khorasani of the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) not only claimed responsibility for the attack but also ou...