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Pakistan Logged Deadliest Year in a Decade as Attacks Fell After Afghan Border Closure

Fresh think-tank data quantify a sharp 2025 escalation in violence, followed by a brief post-October dip linked to tighter Afghan border controls.

Overview

  • CRSS reports 3,417 fatalities across 1,272 incidents in 2025, a 34% year-on-year rise from 2,555 in 2024, making it the worst year in a decade.
  • Following the October shutdown of Torkham and Chaman, attacks fell about 9% in November and 17% in December, with civilian and security deaths declining 4% and 19% in the last quarter.
  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan accounted for roughly 96% of all fatalities and 93% of incidents, led by 2,331 deaths in KP and 956 in Balochistan.
  • Militants made up most of the dead as operations intensified, with CRSS counting about 2,060 outlaw fatalities and PICSS noting 2,138 militants killed, 1,066 attacks, and a 53% rise in suicide bombings.
  • The border closure followed October clashes that Pakistan says killed over 200 Taliban-linked fighters and 23 Pakistani soldiers, after which a Qatar-mediated ceasefire largely held despite persistent tensions.