Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the leading jihadist group targeting the Pakistani state, has escalated its violent operations in 2024 and early 2025. The group's resurgence has been facilitated by its sanctuaries in Afghanistan, support from local militant factions, access to sophisticated arms and ammunition and last but not least, ideological and spiritual backing from the Afghan Taliban emirate.
For India’s military, the Taliban is a threat looming large on the horizon. The perception of the Taliban making inroads into India had increased since December 2008, when Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud vowed to fight alongside the Pakistan army if a conflict broke out between India and Pakistan. The verbal threat has since been underlined by the Taliban’s eastward movement inside Pakistan, from its bases in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) to the city of Lahore, close to the Indian border in Pakistan’s Punjab province.