Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) Financing

Group financing profile

When we think about terrorist and illicit financing in Afghanistan / Pakistan, our minds immediately go to Al Qaeda, ISIL-KP, and the Taliban. But there are a number of other groups and actors who operate in the region that are important to consider. This article profiles one such group – Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. The group has considerable linkages with the Afghan Taliban and Al Qaeda, and has collaborated with many different militant groups in the region. The group has been slowly re-building since about 2018, but has been much more brazen and active since the Taliban took over in Afghanistan in 2021. This profile looks at the group’s financing methods and mechanisms, and offers some policy options for countering their financing.

The TTP is based in South Waziristan, and operates in all four provinces of Pakistan and within Afghanistan as well. The TTP is considered to be one of the largest and deadliest militant umbrella groups in Pakistan.¹ Over the last few years, the group has become increasingly active — including in attacks targeting Chinese interests and Pakistani army personnel.

Raising Funds

The TTP raises funds in a variety of ways, the vast majority of which are common amongst terrorist groups in the region, such as criminal activity, the drugs trade, extortion / protection rackets, and some more specialized activities.  For instance, the group conducts kidnapping for ransom of businessmen, soldiers, and government employees (a form of local kidnapping for ransom, one of the two types I talk about in my book), but also aid workers and journalists.² The group also engages in other criminal activity, including bank robberies. ³