The insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also known as the War in North-West Pakistan or Pakistan's war on terror, is an ongoing armed conflict involving Pakistan, and Islamist militant groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jundallah, Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI), TNSM, al-Qaeda, and their Central Asian allies such as the IS–Khorasan (IS-K), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, East Turkistan Movement, Emirate of Caucasus, and elements of organized crime. Formerly a war, it is now a low-level insurgency as of 2017. The armed conflict began in 2004 when tensions rooted in the Pakistan Army's search for al-Qaeda fighters in Pakistan's mountainous Waziristan area (in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas) escalated into armed resistance. Pakistan's actions were presented as its contribution to the U.S. War on terror. Clashes further erupted between unified Pakistan Armed Forces and the Central Asian militant groups, allied with the Arab fighters, in 2008–2010. The foreign militants were joined by Pakistani non-military veterans of the Afghan War to the west, which subsequently established the TTP and other militant umbrella organisations, such as Lashkar-e-Islam. The war depleted the country's manpower resources, and the outcomes outlined a deep effect on its national economy, since Pakistan had joined the United States-led War on Terror. As of 2018, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) statistics and mathematical data survey collections, the economy has suffered direct and indirect losses of up to $126.79 billion since 2001 due to its role as a "frontline state". According to the MoF-issued Pakistan Economic Survey 2010–2011, "Pakistan has never witnessed such a devastating social and economic upheaval in its industry, even after dismemberment of the country by a direct war with India in 1971." After the Pakistani military launched a major offensive against the Pakistani Taliban in 2014, its leaders escaped to Afghanistan. By 2014, the casualty rates from terrorism in the country as a whole dropped by 40% as compared to 2011–2013, with even greater drops noted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite the province being the site of a large massacre of schoolchildren by TTP terrorists in December 2014. The reduction in hostilities eventually changed the conflict from a war to a relatively low-level conflict. After negotiations, the Tehreek-e-Taliban and the government announced a ceasefire in June 2022. However, in November 2022, the Tehreek-e-Taliban renounced the ceasefire and called for nationwide attacks against Pakistan. Names for the war Various names have been applied to the conflict by the authors