The Pakistani Taliban: Down But Not Out?

In June 2014, the Pakistani military launched a major counterterrorism offensive in the North Waziristan tribal area. This operation has dealt a major blow to the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which was arguably once the most active and lethal terrorist organization in Pakistan. Today, the TTP is much weaker than in previous years, but it continues to carry out attacks, thanks in great part to the strength of powerful TTP factions like Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. What is the state of the TTP and its various factions today? What might the future hold, and will the organization survive? What is the impact of the Islamic State terror group, and its rising profile in Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the TTP? Mona Kanwal Sheikh, who has studied the TTP closely since 2008, will address these and other questions. Stephen Tankel, an expert on militancy in South Asia, will put the TTP in the broader context of terrorism in Pakistan and the surrounding region.