NEW DELHI: Islamabad-based Think Tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) has released an alarming annual report regarding the violence in the country during 2025, the year that has just ended. It has been said that the spiral of violence has been rising for the past few years, with each new year leading to higher fatal casualties. The casualties have been reported among security personnel, civilians and also militants.
The press release issued by the PICSS says: Pakistan’s counter-terrorism battlefield saw a marked escalation in 2025, with violence intensifying in both tempo and lethality and pushing several indicators to their highest levels in years. PICSS data show the year not only delivered a steep rise in overall combat-related deaths, but also became the deadliest year for militants since 2015, the most lethal for security forces since 2011, and the worst for civilian casualties since 2015—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.
Fatalities Rise Sharply
According to PICSS statistics, combat-related deaths in 2025 rose 74 per cent to 3,413, compared with 1,950 in 2024, a sharp rise of almost 1,463. The fatalities included 2,138 militants, 667 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees (combatants). Militants accounted for about 62 per cent of total combat-related deaths, and their 2,138 fatalities represented the highest annual militant death toll since 2015, when 2,322 militants were killed. Compared with 2024, militant deaths increased by 124 per cent, as 951 militants were killed in 2024.
For comparison of deaths of security personnel, one may recall that during the Kargil conflict of 1999, India had suffered 527 fatal casualties. The deaths of 667 Pakistani security personnel, among them several officers, is not something that Pakistan under General Asim Munir can afford to take lightly. It is a classic case of what we call “chickens coming home to roost” as the Pakistan Army itself raised the radicalised militants. Of course, for use against Afghanistan at the behest of the US and for using them as terror proxies against India.
The year also proved particularly deadly for Pakistani security forces. PICSS recorded 667 security personnel deaths in 2025, a 26 per cent rise from 528 in 2024, and the highest annual figure since 2011, when 677 security forces personnel lost their lives. Civilian deaths increased 24 per cent to 580 in 2025, compared with 468 in 2024, marking the highest annual civilian toll since 2015, when 642 civilians were killed.
Injuries also rose sharply. PICSS recorded 2,270 injuries in 2025, including 1,025 security forces personnel, 983 civilians, 234 militants and 28 members of pro-government peace committees. This represented a 53 per cent increase over 2024 and was the highest annual number of injured since 2014, when 3,829 people were injured. Compared with 2024, injuries among security forces increased by 62 per cent (1,025 compared with 631), civilian injuries rose by 40 per cent (983 compared with 701), and militant injuries increased by 64 per cent (234 compared with 142).
Militant Attacks
PICSS also reported an 83 per cent rise in arrests of suspected militants, with 497 suspects arrested in 2025 compared with 272 in 2024. The institute said the 2025 figure was the highest annual total since 2017, when 1,781 militants were either arrested or laid down their weapons. Kidnappings rose even more sharply, with militants abducting 215 people in 2025 compared with 82 in 2024—an increase of 162%. PICSS said the 2025 kidnapping figure was the highest in a single year since 2012 based on its militancy database.
On the operational front, PICSS recorded at least 1,066 militant attacks in 2025, a 17 per cent increase compared with 908 in 2024 and the highest annual total since 2014, when 1,609 militant attacks were recorded. Suicide attacks also increased by 53 per cent, with 26 such incidents reported in 2025 compared with 17 in 2024. PICSS noted an expanding trend in the use of small drones, including quadcopters, with 33 such incidents recorded during 2025, alongside increased use of unmanned aerial vehicles by security forces.
Throughout 2025, multiple militant organisations remained operationally active across Pakistan, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group, Ittihadul Mujahideen—an alliance comprising Lashkar-e-Islami and Inqilab-e-Islami—as well as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-K), Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), Balochistan Republican Guards (BRG), and Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army. PICSS data indicate these groups collectively conducted operations targeting security forces, civilian infrastructure, and government installations throughout the year.
The entry of the Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA) as a force against the Pakistani state in 2025 is significant, as it indicates that it is facing armed rebels in three of four provinces. These three are Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and now Sindh. In Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (POJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan, it is the heavy military presence which keeps rebellion in check.
The year was further marked by a deterioration in Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations, driven by persistent cross-border militant infiltration and attacks allegedly originating from Afghan territory. In October, Pakistan conducted targeted air strikes on militant hideouts belonging to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group operating from Afghanistan. The military action significantly escalated tensions between the two nations, leading to the closure of all border crossings.
PICSS documented multiple incidents of cross-border firing between Pakistani and Afghan border forces across several frontier sectors, further exacerbating diplomatic and military strains. As of the reporting date, all border crossing points have remained closed for the past three months, halting all bilateral movement and trade. PICSS noted that most violence remained concentrated in Pashtun-majority districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the tribal districts (erstwhile FATA), and in Balochistan.
After the prolonged incarceration of Baloch activist Dr Mahrang Baloch, the participation of Baloch women in the freedom struggle has gone up substantially. The women are shedding the tag of lagging behind in the conservative society and that is a major worry Pakistan’s policy planners have to face.
