Terrorist groups - home based:
al-Qa'ida (AQ): aim(s): establish a pan-Islamic caliphate under a strict Salafi Muslim interpretation of Sharia through ridding the Muslim world of Western influence, expelling non-Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula, overthrowing Muslim governments it deems to be apostate, and attacking "far enemy" (Western) interests and homelands with the intent to destablize Western governments area(s) of operation: headquartered in Pakistan, with its heaviest presence in the northwest and in northeastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border; maintains safehavens in North Waziristan Agency in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region, a semi-autonomous region in the northwest consisting of seven tribal agencies (districts) and six frontier regions directly governed by Pakistan's federal government through a special set of laws called the Frontier Crimes Regulations; confronted with counterterrorism operations throughout the country; operates a blend of limited and well-established networks in Pakistan and across the globe, especially its affiliate al-Qa'ida organizations in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia
al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS): aim(s): establish an Islamic caliphate in the Indian subcontinent area(s) of operation: maintains a steady presence, where overall leader Asim UMAR is based; Pakistan is known to have been AQIS's original headquarters; operates safe havens in North Waziristan Agency and South Waziristan Agency in the country's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region; FATA is a semi-autonomous region in the northwest consisting of seven tribal agencies (districts) and six frontier regions directly governed by Pakistan's federal government through a special set of laws called the Frontier Crimes Regulations; operational throughout the country, targeting Military personnel and using machetes to attack university professors, bloggers, and others who oppose AQIS's ideology; responsible for numerous attacks in Karachi; stages attacks in Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh, where the group is the most active; majority of members are Pakistanis; outlawed in Pakistan
Haqqani Network (HQN): aim(s): enhance its operational networks and capabilities for staging cross-border attacks in Afghanistan and, ultimately, replace the Afghan Government with a strict Salafi Muslim interpretation of Sharia area(s) of operation: headquartered in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region in North Waziristan Agency (NWA); FATA is a semi-autonomous region in the northwest consisting of seven tribal agencies (districts) and six frontier regions directly governed by Pakistan's federal government through a special set of laws called the Frontier Crimes Regulations; NWA is located across from Afghanistan's southeastern border; fighters have staged numerous cross-border operations into Afghanistan, targeting Afghan, US, and NATO forces and other Afghan Government personnel and Westerners for attack or kidnappings for ransom
Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI): aim(s): overthrow the Pakistan Government and install Sharia throughout the country area(s) of operation: headquartered in Pakistan, where the group operates several camps; remains heavily active in the southern area of Pakistan-controlled Azad Kashmir
Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM): aim(s): annex Kashmi into Pakistan and establish an Islamic state in Kashmir area(s) of operation: headquartered in Islamabad, with a heavy operational presence in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir, where operatives stage attacks against India; maintains training and paramilitary camps in the country's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region; FATA is a semi-autonomous region in the northwest consisting of seven tribal agencies (districts) and six frontier regions directly governed by Pakistan's federal government through a special set of laws called the Frontier Crimes Regulations; outlawed in Pakistan since November 2003
Islamic Jihad Union (IJU): aim(s): secure its base in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and, ultimately, overthrow the Government of Uzbekistan area(s) of operation: headquartered in FATA, where fighters attack Pakistani security forces and stage attacks inside Afghanistan; FATA is a semi-autonomous region in the northwest consisting of seven tribal agencies (districts) and six frontier regions directly governed by Pakistan's federal government through a special set of laws called the Frontier Crimes Regulations; operates primarily against international and Afghan forces in Afghanistan, in collaboration with other armed groups; members are scattered throughout Central Asia and Europe; on 29 July 2004, an operative blew himself up next to a vehicle in Fateh Jhang, Attock District, Punjab Province, carrying Pakistan's then prime minister-designate, Shaukat AZIZ, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 25; membership was assessed in 2016 to be in the low hundreds
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU): aim(s): enhance its networks and secure its territory in Pakistan to meet its historic goal of establishing an Islamic state in the Fergana Valley, a fertile valley spread across eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan, and northern Tajikistan area(s) of operation: leadership is based in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region; FATA is a semi-autonomous region in country's northwest consisting of seven tribal agencies (districts) and six frontier regions directly governed by Pakistan's federal government through a special set of laws called the Frontier Crimes Regulations; IMU moved to Pakistan after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001; active along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border across from northern Afghanistan, where on the Pakistan side as of 2017, the group operates considerably fewer paramilitary training camps than during its peak in the late 1990s leading up to 2001
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM): aim(s): unite Kashmir with Pakistan, install Sharia in Pakistan, and drive foreign forces from Afghanistan area(s) of operation: headquartered in Punjab Province; stages attacks against Indian forces, primarily in the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir; hundreds of members are active in the Kashmir Valley; outlawed in Pakistan
Jundallah: aim(s): seeks greater autonomy for Balochis in Pakistan and Iran area(s) of operation: headquartered in Balochistan Province, where operatives stage attacks inside Iran against Shia Muslims, primarily Iranian soldiers and security personnel for murder or kidnapping; claimed responsibility for opening fire on a bus carrying Ismaili Shia Muslims on 13 May 2015 in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Karachi, killing 43 passengers and wounding 30; outlawed in Pakistan since January 2017
Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT): aim(s): annex India's state of Jammu and Kashmir as part of Pakistan and, ultimately, install Islamic rule over parts of India and Pakistan area(s) of operation: headquartered in Lahore, Punjab Province, with an operational presence throughout the country, especially in both the Pakistan-controlled and India-controlled Kashmir regions; stages attacks against Indian Military forces; the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation charity organization in Lahore is a JuD and LeT fundraising subsidiary; LeT has been outlawed in Pakistan since 2002; LeT changed its name to Kashmir Tehrik Azadi in early 2017

Terrorist groups - foreign based:
Indian Mujahedeen (IM): aim(s): enhance networks in Pakistan to maintain safe havens and carry out attacks inside India area(s) of operation: cofounders and brothers Mohammed Riyaz BHATKAL and Iqbal BHATKAL are reportedly leading IM from Karachi
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan (ISIL-K): aim(s): establish an Islamic caliphate in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region area(s) of operation: maintains a limited operational and recruitment presence throughout the country, primarily along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to stage attacks inside Afghanistan; conducts small-scale shooting and bombing attacks against Pakistani Shia Muslims, military installations, and government buildings; claimed responsibility for the 13 May 2015 shooting of Shia Muslim bus passangers in Karachi, killing 45 people and injuring 13; assessed in early 2017 to have a few hundred fighters based in Pakistan; core ISIL refers to Pakistan and Afghanistan as its Wilayat al-Khorasan
Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ): aim(s): exterminate Shia Muslims, rid the region of Western influence and, ultimately, establish an Islamic state under Sharia in Pakistan area(s) of operation: has a growing presence in Karachi, the capital of Sindh Province; loosely coordinated cells are spread across the country, primarily in Punjab and Balochistan provinces, Karachi, and in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region; FATA is a semi-autonomous region in the northwest consisting of seven tribal agencies (districts) and six frontier regions directly governed by Pakistan's federal government through a special set of laws called the Frontier Crimes Regulations; majority of attacks are against local and foreign Shia Muslims and government personnel and facilities; LJ attacks in recent years have killed hundreds of Pakistanis, including the 21 January 2017 bombing at a vegetable market in the Shia Muslim section of Parachinar, Kurram Valley Agency, FATA, that killed at least 25 people and injured over 50; recruits travel to Afghanistan across from Pakistan's central FATA borders to attend paramilitary training in LJ camps; assessed in late 2015 to have a few hundred members; outlawed in Pakistan
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP): aim(s): remove Pakistani forces from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and, ultimately, overthrow the Pakistan Government to install TTP's strict interpretation of Sharia throughout the country area(s) of operation: maintains a large presence in Karachi, the capital of Sindh Province; trains and deploys fighters in the tribal belt in the Pashtun areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, especially in Kunar Province where TTP has established sanctuaries; operationally active in the North Waziristan and Balochistan regions; targets Pakistan Government officials and military, security, and police personnel and Westerners, progovernment tribal elders, Shia Muslims, and education figures and advocates; formerly headquartered in Bajaur Agency in northern FATA, a semi-autonomous region in the northwestern consisting of seven tribal agencies (districts) and six frontier regions directly governed by Pakistan's federal government through a special set of laws called the Frontier Crimes Regulations; has carried out and claimed responsibility for numerous attacks against Pakistani and US interests throughout most of the country; killed approximately 543 people in Pakistan in 2014, including on 16 December 2014, when TTP gunmen entered the Army Public School in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar, and opened fire and detonated bombs, killing 157 and injuring 131 in the deadliest terrorist attack ever to occur in Pakistan; shot education rights activist Malala YOUSAFZAI in a failed assassination attempt on 9 October 2012; TTP has suspected involvement in the 2007 assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir BHUTTO; outlawed in Pakistan