US, Pakistan hold fourth counterterrorism dialogue in Washington, vow joint action against terror groups

WEB DESK: Pakistan and the United States held their Fourth Counterterrorism Dialogue on August 4 in Washington DC, led by Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Special Secretary Ambassador Nabeel Munir and US Coordinator for Counterterrorism Ambassador Gregory LoGerfo, according to statements released by the State Department and MOFA.

The dialogue reaffirmed shared interests in the two countries’ counterterrorism partnership and their determination to confront terrorism, the statement said. Delegations exchanged assessments of the current threat environment, explored avenues to strengthen collaboration, and discussed steps to enhance border security and disrupt networks facilitating terrorist activity.

“The United States and Pakistan affirmed their joint resolve to confront terrorist organizations that endanger the safety of their citizens and the stability of the region, including ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), al-Qa’ida (AQ), the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its affiliates,” the State Department statement said. Both governments committed to sustaining counterterrorism cooperation to keep their nations secure, describing it as part of a broader, long-term vision for peace, prosperity and stability in the region.

The dialogue comes months after Pakistan topped the Global Terrorism Index for the first time, with terrorism-related deaths rising 6 percent to 1,139 in 2025, the highest toll since 2013, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2026, published in March by the Institute for Economics and Peace.

The report, which ranks 163 countries covering 99.7 percent of the world’s population, linked Pakistan’s worsening security situation to strained relations with Afghanistan and escalating violence from the TTP and BLA, both banned outfits.

The TTP was identified as Pakistan’s deadliest terror group and the third deadliest globally, responsible for over 67 percent of attacks in the country since 2009, five times more than the BLA, the next most active group. It was also the only outfit among the world’s four deadliest to see incidents rise in 2025, up 24 percent to 595 attacks, almost entirely concentrated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the Afghan border. The group was linked to 637 deaths, or 56 percent of the national toll, including its deadliest single attack, which killed 21 military personnel.

The report tied the surge partly to the Afghan Taliban’s return to power, saying it had expanded the TTP’s reach and operational capacity. It marked the sixth consecutive year of rising terrorism deaths in Pakistan, even as overall attack numbers saw a slight dip.

KP and Balochistan remained the worst-affected provinces, accounting for over 74 percent of attacks and 67 percent of deaths nationwide. Globally, terrorism deaths fell 28 percent to 5,582, with Sub-Saharan Africa emerging as the new epicentre. Pakistan had ranked second in the previous year’s index.