Emerging Technologies and Terror Financing: A Case Study of Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37540/njips.v9i2.221Keywords:
Terror financing, emerging technologies, cryptocurrency, darknet, digital transformationAbstract
This study investigates the existential threat facing Pakistan, specifically in the context of terrorist financing through the lens of emerging technologies. It provides a comprehensive analysis of cryptocurrencies, mobile money platforms, and artificial intelligence, examining how these technologies facilitate the generation, movement, and concealment of funds by terrorist organizations. Furthermore, the paper explores the typologies of terrorist organizations operating in Pakistan, with particular emphasis on those that actively exploit technology-driven financial channels. Employing a qualitative inductive methodology, the research evaluates Pakistan’s existing Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) framework, including its regulatory measures, preventive strategies, and enforcement mechanisms, to assess its capacity to address these evolving technological challenges. The study identifies structural, legislative, and enforcement deficiencies that remain inadequate in the face of rapid technological advancements and offers recommendations for adaptive, technology-driven policy reforms aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s CTF framework and mitigating emerging risks.
References
AAJ News. (2026, April 13). Pakistan detains 3 accused of spying for RAW. AAJ News. https://english.aaj.tv/news/330456863/pakistan-detains-3-accused-of-spying-for-raw
Ahmed. (2024, April 5). Terrorism financing. FMU. https://www.fmu.gov.pk/terrorism-financing-vbied/
Ali, K. (2017, February 7). Black money in property market risks creating a bubble. DAWN. https://www.dawn.com/news/1313182
Andreopoulos, M. (2026, February 5). Terrorist Financing and Pakistan’s Illusion of Compliance. Geopolitics News & Risk Analysis. Retrieved April 17, 2026, from https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/terrorist-financing-and-pakistans-illusion-of-compliance/
Bilal, M. (2026, April 22). FIA seizes Rs. 2 billion, including Iranian currency, in major Hawala bust. ProPakistani. Retrieved April 24, 2026, from https://propakistani.pk/2026/04/22/fia-seizes-rs-2-billion-and-iranian-currency-in-major-hawala-bust/
Bindner, L., & Gluck, R. (2026, February 9). Telegram stars: Exploring Micropayment exploitation, digital goods and the evolving tactics of terrorist financing. GNET. Retrieved April 6, 2026, from https://gnet-research.org/2026/02/09/telegram-stars-exploring-micropayment-exploitation-digital-goods-and-the-evolving-tactics-of-terrorist-financing/
Bukhari, S. A. A. (2026, April 18). Personal interview.
Center for Preventive Action. (2025, February 12). Instability in Afghanistan. Global Conflict Tracker. Retrieved April 2, 2025, from https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/war-afghanistan
Chainalysis Team. (2026, January 30). OFAC designates Iranian-linked crypto exchanges. Chainalysis. Retrieved April 20, 2026, from https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/ofac-designates-iranian-crypto-exchanges-january-2026/
Feyissa, D., & Gebresenbet, F. (2026). Transnational Flow of Finance in the Hadiya–South Africa Corridor. In Migration as a collective project: A temporal perspective on Hadiya migration to South Africa. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003617938
Financial Monitoring Unit. (2021). Clarification–Dissemination of Financial Intelligence by Financial Monitoring Unit. https://www.fmu.gov.pk/docs/2021/Clarification-Circular-Dissemination-of-Financial-Intelligence
Financial Action Task Force. (2025). Status of implementation of Recommendation 15 by FATF members and jurisdictions with materially important virtual asset activity (VACG roadmap: Jurisdictions with materially important virtual asset activity). https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Virtualassets/VACG-Snapshot-Jurisdictions.html
Financial Action Task Force. (2025). Targeted update on implementation of the FATF standards on virtual assets and VASPs. FATF. https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Fatfrecommendations/targeted-update-virtual-assets-vasps-2025.html
Global AML/CFT. (2025, April 1). Global AML/CFT Context. EU AML/CFT Global Facility. https://www.global-amlcft.eu/global-anti-money-laundering-and-countering-terrorism-financing-context/
Habilian. (2024). Habilian Releases Annual Terrorism Report for 2023-2024. https://www.habilian.ir/en/202410054968/news/habilian-releases-annual-terrorism-report-for-2023-2024.html
Institute of Economics and Peace. (2024). Global Terrorism Index 2025. https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Global-Terrorism-Index-2025
Iqbal, S. (2026, April 15). Pakistan legalises virtual assets. DAWN. https://www.dawn.com/news/1991807
Iqbal, K. (2026, April 20). Personal interview.
Khanum, K. A. (2026, January). Terrorism & evolving technologies (Policy Brief No. 15). Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI). https://ipripak.org/terrorism-evolving-technologies/
Levi, M., & Reuter, P. (2006, February). Money Laundering. Crime and Justice, 24(1), 289-375. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/501508
Messenger, D. A. (2026). Bombing and Civil Defense in Alicante, Cartagena, and Villena. In Civilian bombing and civil defence in the Spanish Civil War: Bombs along the Mediterranean. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-10610-0_3
Mohamed, A. A. (2023). Quantifying the role of mobile money services to financial inclusion: Evidence from EVC-PLUS in Somalia. Global Social Welfare, 12(1), 29-39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-023-00286-7
Movchan, A., Shliakhovskyi, O., Kozii, V., & Fedchak, I. (2023). Investigating cryptocurrency financing crimes terrorism and armed aggression. Social Legal Studios, 6(4), 123-131. https://doi.org/10.32518/sals4.2023.123
NACTA. (2024). Proscribed Organizations. https://nacta.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/proscribed-organizations-06-oct-2024.pdf
Pietschmann, T. (2011). Estimating illicit financial flows resulting from drug trafficking and other transnational organized crimes. UN. https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/Illicit_financial_flows_2011_web.pdf
Reynie, D. (2024). Islamist Terrorists Attacks in the World 1979-2024. Fondation pour l’innovation politique. https://www.fondapol.org/en/study/islamist-terrorist-attacks-in-the-world-1979-2024/
Rousselle, A. (2025, October 24). Closing the enforcement gap: AI, illicit liquidity, and the next phase of counter-terrorist finance. GNET. Retrieved April 11, 2026, from https://gnet-research.org/2025/10/24/closing-the-enforcement-gap-ai-illicit-liquidity-and-the-next-phase-of-counter-terrorist-finance/
SATP. (2024). Terrorism in Pakistan. South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP). https://www.satp.org/terrorist-groups/pakistan
Shah, S. A., & Zaidi, S. A. (2025). Navigating Fintech landscapes: A comparative analysis of Pakistan, China, and Turkey. Policy Vanguard, 1(1), 48-64. https://doi.org/10.65928/pv.1.1.2025.8
Shahid, S. (2025). BLA extorting money from mine owners, claims Balochistan minister. DAWN. https://www.dawn.com/news/1865284
Spyra, M., Balina, R., Idasz-Balina, M., Zając, A., & Różyński, F. (2025). Cryptocurrencies as a tool for money laundering: Risk assessment and perception of threats based on empirical research. Risks, 13(10), 189. https://doi.org/10.3390/risks13100189
State Bank of Pakistan. (2024). Annual Payment Systems Review – FY24. https://www.sbp.org.pk/PS/PDF/FiscalYear-2023-24
Global and the Local. (2020). In L. T. Waha (Ed.), United by Violence, Divided by Cause?: A Comparison of Drivers of Radicalisation and Violence in Asia and Europe. & Co. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748905738-153
TRM. (2025, October 22). 2025 crypto crime report. https://www.trmlabs.com/reports-and-whitepapers/2025-crypto-crime-report
Tsvetovat, M., & Carley, K. M. (2005). Generation of realistic social network datasets for testing of analysis and simulation tools. SSRN Electronic Journal, 1-27. CMU-ISRI-05-130
Tsvetovat, M., & Carley, K. M. (2005, January). Structural Knowledge and Success of Anti-Terrorist Activity: The Downside of Structural Equivalence. Journal of Open Source Software, 6(1), 1-22. https://www.cmu.edu/joss/content/articles/volume6/TsvetovatCarley/
Pervaiz, U. (2026, April, 22). Personal interview.
United Nations Security Council. (2001, September 28). Adopted by the Security Council at its 4385th meeting, on 28 September 2001 (S/RES/1373). https://undocs.org/S/RES/1373(2001)
United Nations. (2019). S/RES/2462(2019) | Security Council. United Nations Security Council. https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/sres24622019
UNODC. (2026). Building skills in reporting suspicious financial activities by high-risk sectors in Pakistan. https://www.unodc.org/copak/en/Stories/SP2/building-skills-in-reporting-suspicious-financial-activities-by-high-risk-sectors-in-pakistan.html
Verma, A., Baloch, I., & Valle, R. (2025). The Baloch Insurgency in Pakistan: Evolution, Tactics, and Regional Security Implications. Combating Terrorism Center, 18(4). https://ctc.westpoint.edu/the-baloch-insurgency-in-pakistan-evolution-tactics-and-regional-security-implications/
Virk, S. (2023). National internal security policy: An assessment. Journal of Public Policy Practitioners, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.32350/jppp.12.03
Wolfberg, A. (2025). Different Kinds of Threat. In Climate Security Intelligence: From Knowledge Transfer to Co-Creation (p. 107–125). Springer Nature.
Zia Khan Dawar, M. B., & Afridi, M. S. (2021). Cryptocurrency and Terror Financing: Threats and Policy Options for Pakistan. PJTR, 4(1), 80-105. https://pjtr.nacta.gov.pk/index.php/Journals/article/view/73
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 NUST Journal of International Peace & Stability
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
1.png)
