The digital frontline

Terrorism continues to pose a complex and enduring challenge for Pakistan, inflicting innumerable loses, economic viability, and national unity. The Global Terrorism Index 2025 shows Pakistan as the second most affected nation worldwide, with a 45 percent upsurge in terrorism-related deaths. This statistic implies not only a persistent but escalated terrorist violence.

The launch of military operations like Zarb-e-Azb, Radd-ul-Fasaad, and Azm-e-Istehkam have targeted terrorist safe havens and degraded their operational capacities, but the threat-matrix continues to evolve. This includes terrorism threats from the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-KP), targeting security forces, critical infrastructure, and even Chinese nationals.

Adding to the threat-matrix is the fact that militant networks no longer conform to physical borders alone. They have expanded their operational and digital activities by employing sophisticated communication tools and online encrypted platforms which rely on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for propaganda purposes. Therefore, it is a strategic necessity for Pakistan to make its CT strategy dynamic by also integrating AI and data-centric capabilities into national security governance.

Currently, the National Counter Terrorism Authority, the Federal Investigation Agency, and provincial Counter Terrorism Departments (CTDs) have limited interoperability or systematic data-sharing. More than just improvements to operations, there is a pressing need to align the organisational frameworks that deal with terrorism’s multifaceted nature. The problem cannot be addressed in isolation due to international and inter-state links. If fully harnessed within institutional mechanisms, AI has the potential to transform Pakistan’s security posture from reactionary and event-driven to proactive and intelligence-led.

Pakistan has made commendable preliminary efforts. Biometric identification systems have been deployed by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), while facial recognition technologies have also been operationalised at airports and high-risk checkpoints.

Additionally, the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) has launched goAML, an anti-money-laundering software, with support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). This system exemplifies how international tools can be localised for high-value counter-terrorism use. Moreover, in collaboration with UNODC, Pakistan is also enhancing its capacity-building measures by training NACTA personnel, focusing on data-analysis and counter-terrorism using innovative AI-techniques.

AI applications are also extremely useful in border security for tracking and detecting threats in real-time, especially in difficult, rugged, and high-risk areas. Countries like China and India have already implemented AI for surveillance along their borders, and many others around the globe are prioritising such integrated solutions. Confronted with terrorism-related challenges along its western frontier, Pakistan can collaborate with China to develop and deploy an AI-enabled border monitoring solution that meets Pakistan’s needs and threat landscape. This also aligns with the May 2025 trilateral meeting between China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, where these countries called for joint CT operations, improved information-sharing, and alertness against external interference.

AI, though very complex, is emerging as a game-changing technology to revolutionise CT. Through Large Language Models, Natural Language Processing, and Machine Learning systems, AI makes it possible to sift data, find patterns through predictive insights, and thus provides an opportunity to support security architecture in terms of threat detection and neutralisation, even before the threats manifest. However, these capabilities must be embedded within established processes, chain-of-command structures, and inter-agency protocols.

Pakistan is at a critical juncture where it is confronted with simultaneous challenges, including resurgence of physical terrorist networks as well as decentralised, and technologically-enabled terrorism. Counteracting these threats requires foresight and the institutional capacity to neutralise them across physical and digital domains. The ability to adapt swiftly and strategically to emerging threats will determine Pakistan’s effectiveness in ensuring long-term security and building a safer and more resilient future.

In June 2025, Pakistan’s appointment as Vice Chair in the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the UN Security Council highlights its frontline role in fighting against terrorism on a global scale. This also means that Pakistan has the added responsibility to respond decisively to the ever-changing spectrum of threats. Therefore, the CT strategy of Pakistan must integrate AI in areas like intelligence assessment, border control, and financial intelligence.

A fundamental challenge to the integration of AI into Pakistan’s security architecture remains the absence of a national AI policy and a robust legal framework. Although the 2023 draft AI policy marks a step forward, its lack of enforceability and conceptual clarity limits its relevance for national security transformation. To address this gap and institutionalise AI meaningfully, Pakistan must establish a central coordination body that unites stakeholders from defence, intelligence, technology, and academia. This will provide strategic direction, ensure interoperability, and bridge policy with operational needs.

Pakistan is at a critical juncture where it is confronted with simultaneous challenges, including resurgence of physical terrorist networks as well as decentralised, and technologically-enabled terrorism. Counteracting these threats requires foresight and the institutional capacity to neutralise them across physical and digital domains. The ability to adapt swiftly and strategically to emerging threats will determine Pakistan’s effectiveness in ensuring long-term security and building a safer and more resilient future.