Pakistan saw its bloodiest year since 2011 as conflict-related violence escalated in 2025, claiming at least 3,413 lives, marking a steep 74 per cent jump, a report by Islamabad-based think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) reveals.
According to the report, released on Wednesday, at least 1,950 people were killed in militant violence and counterterrorism operations across the country in 2024.
The PICSS report recorded the deaths of 667 security personnel in 2025, marking a 26 per cent increase from the previous year, along with 580 deaths of civilians-- highest since 2015.
Additionally, 28 members of pro-government peace committees were killed in targeted attacks, highlighting militants’ efforts to derail the peace talks.
Militants accounted for 2,138 of the total 3,413 fatalities, comprising over 62 per cent of all deaths.
The report attributes the 124 per cent spike in militant casualties to “expanded counterterrorism operations” by the Pakistani armed forces, particularly against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has escalated its campaign against state forces in recent years.
The Global Terrorism Index 2025, released by an Australian-based think tank named Institute for Economics and Peace, ranks Pakistan as the second most affected nation.
The country witnessed 1,066 militant attacks, including 26 suicide bombings, a 53 per cent increase from 17 in 2024.
The 2025 data was “marked by fragmentation, competition, and tactical innovation,” the report noted. “While militant attacks climbed to their highest annual total since 2014 and the use of suicide bombings and small drones showed a clear upward trend.”
The annual security report describes a bad picture of violence, particularly in the country’s western border regions.
The report attributes the surge to a combination of factors, including the resurgence of anti-Pakistan militant groups operating from Afghanistan, the alleged sheltering of these groups by the Taliban-led government in Kabul and the usage of advanced weapons left behind by US forces during their withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
The PICSS reported that the majority of violence happened in Pashtun-majority districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the tribal districts (previously known as Federally administered tribal areas) and in Balochistan, with a trend of urban spillover in major cities, including Karachi and Lahore.
The attacks include security convoys, targeted killings and extensive use of improvised explosive devices.
The report comes a month after Pakistan military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry informed that security forces conducted 67,023 intelligence-based operations in 2025, resulting in the death of 1,873 militants, including 136 Afghan nationals.
 "Pakistan sees 74% jump in conflict-related deaths in 2025: Report")
