Terrorism has experienced a paradigm shift in design. What was once performed by suicide attackers and recorded statements has now found protection in encrypted chatrooms. It operates through weaponized drones and proliferates its narratives through end-to-end algorithms. 

In Pakistan, Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan (IMP) and Tahrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist organizations are the embodiment of such development. They are no longer limited by terrain and religious traditions in terms of how they wage warfare. They are more mobile and capable of delivering their blows both physically and psychologically.

Technology in terrorism

IMP and TTP use various social media platforms, including X, Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok with the most focus on Telegram because of its anonymity, strong encryption and low moderation. The terrorist utilized these platforms for recruitment, proliferation and fear inducement by using coded language to escape identification.

Terrorism in Pakistan had a horrifying pattern two decades ago. They disseminated information with messages via video recordings and through FM radio. Their tactics relied on the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), use of ambushes and suicide attacks. These were methods that were devastating but were geographically and technologically limited.

From 2022 to 2025 the TTP and IMP started using commercial drones not only for reconnaissance but also for warefar. TTP and IMP drone helicopters can reach military and civilian targets in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the Pakistani capital. These attacks highlight a worrying trend in the militant arsenal: affordable, massively destructive remote terrorist attacks. Using drones is a new addition to the operation of these terrorist groups. It intensifies their ability to attack and remain safe. Now the main concern is not in the sky but online.

These terror groups frequently use secure communications. They share ideological material, logistical instructions, planning of targets and recruitment. Terrorists have shifted into decentralized locations where it is hard to bring them under conventional surveillance. The end-to-end encryption of many apps makes it difficult for many governments to monitor without expensive high-end surveillance hardware. 

Meanwhile, mainstream social media are sources of extremist messages. Militants are using the platform algorithms by spelling deliberate variations, emojis, and symbols to bypass moderation. These terrorists use social media to broadcast propaganda and also recruit followers. They post videos of violence, fake information, and distorted stories that aim to manipulate the perception of the masses and form fear. They use encrypted messaging apps and social media to communicate with a greater number of people to advance their agenda. They write the narrative on the Internet to make their actions appear heroic and craft divisions that distrust builds in communities. Such online methods are equally harmful as their acts on the ground, and they are challenging for counter-terrorism activities.

Strategy, not chance

TTP or IMP know where to target: the issue of religious doubt and misquotations, discontent with socio-political life, and generational identity crisis. They misquote religious rhetoric, but also populist laments in the crafting of their anti-state narratives. Their contents imitate the tone, aesthetic, and language of reputable media houses and create confusion in distinguishing between information and brainwashing. Even more dangerous is the structural failure of response.

Although it is possible to address the Western-centric extremism through global platforms, the latter are still not well-adjusted to finding and disrupting the local terrorism narratives. The AI moderation tends to be blind to shades in Urdu, Pashto, or coded regional languages, dominating in the English language. There is minimal inter-platform cooperation, which enables the reappearance of content that has been banned on digital ecosystems. This gives us a whack-a-mole situation where the extremists feel one step ahead. There is a pressing need to take a different approach.

To begin with, tech companies need to partner with local professionals and governments to develop culturally and linguistically sensitive systems of moderation. The AI tools should be capable of detecting how extremist content is layered in the culturally coded language and imagery that is covert. This needs to be revised, and AI moderation regarding social media regulation must be updated to trace the terrorists’ handles and avoid the proliferation of their content in various languages.

The existing system must be updated to identify the terrorist contents and their bypassing tactic. The current AI moderation for social media needs to be upgraded to tackle the terrorists’ content and strictly avoid its entry to online platforms before it appearance. The AI code language needs to be revised to stop the proliferation of terrorist content.

The institutionalization of digital literacy should be done in schools, media, and religious environments. Educating users about how to recognize manipulation, challenge narratives, and not be ideologically exploited should also be one of the main building blocks of national resilience.

The trend of terrorism is not linear anymore. It travels on drones and bits and bytes. Be it cassette tapes or quadcopters, bomb vests or burner phones, terrorist organizations such as TTP and IMP have proven all too ready to modify themselves to use the instruments of modernity to their advantage.

Terrorist groups’ new strategies need a proper and holistic approach worldwide. The world and social media platforms must pay attention to it. The platforms need to revisit their algorithms to avoid the proliferation of terrorist propaganda.

[Farhang Faraydoon Namdar edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.