ISLAMABAD: Pakistan saw a significant drop in cross-border terror attacks and deaths related to terrorism-linked violence since closing its border with Afghanistan but the year 2025 was the 'most violent' in a decade, a think tank report has said.
The year 2025 was also found to be 'deadliest' for terrorists in the country, with terrorists accounting for about 62 per cent of total combat-related deaths, and the worst for civilian casualties in a decade, another think tank report said.
Pakistan shut its border on October 11 last year after clashes with Afghanistan, which were prompted by the allegations that Kabul was not doing enough to stop the use of its soil by terrorists.
Dawn reported from the data collected by think tank Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) that terrorist attacks went down by almost 17 per cent in December, preceded by 9 per cent decline in November.
Terrorism-linked fatalities among civilians and security officials also fell in the last quarter of 2025, by nearly 4 per cent and 19 per cent each in November and December, it said.
However, the data of CRSS showed that with an almost 34 per cent surge in overall violence, the year 2025 went by as the most violent year for Pakistan in a decade.
The comparative data for 2024 and 2025 reveals a sharp escalation in terrorism and counter-terrorism linked violence nationwide, with fatalities rising from 2,555 in 2024 to 3,417 in 2025, marking an increase of 862 deaths, or a roughly 34 per cent year-on-year surge in violence, it added.
Separately, think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies' (PICSS) report said the year 2025 was found to be deadliest for terrorists in Pakistan, with 2,115 terrorist fatalities, while 664 security personnel and 580 civilians accounted for combat-related deaths.
Dawn said in another report quoting PICSS that Pakistan saw a marked escalation in 2025, with violence intensifying in both "tempo and lethality", pushing several security indicators to their highest levels in years.
"The year 2025 has not only delivered a steep rise in overall combat-related deaths, but also became the deadliest year for terrorists since 2015, the most lethal for security forces since 2011, and the worst for civilian casualties in a decade," it added.
According to the CRSS report, violence remained heavily concentrated in the country's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces, with both accounting for over 96 per cent of all fatalities and almost 93 per cent of violent incidents recorded during the entire 2025.
The most significant surge in violence was recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the fatalities rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025, an absolute increase of 711 deaths, accounting for over 82 per cent of the net national rise and marking almost a 44 per cent year-on-year surge in violence in the province.
Balochistan also had an upward trend, with fatalities increasing from 787 to 956; an additional 169 deaths, which are nearly 22 per cent higher than the previous year's figures, the CRSS data showed.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the worst-hit region, suffering over 68 per cent (2331) of the total violence-linked fatalities, and around 63 per cent (795) of the incidents of violence, followed by Balochistan, accounting for 28 per cent (956) of the fatalities and over 30 per cent (386) of the incidents of violence.
In contrast, Punjab and Sindh experienced comparatively lower levels of violence.
The former recorded 25 incidents of violence resulting in 40 fatalities and 24 injuries, representing just 1.15 per cent of total casualties, while the latter saw 51 incidents causing 56 fatalities and 40 injuries; 1.73 per cent of the total.
In Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Islamabad Capital Territory though incidents numbers remained minimal, the injury figures were relatively high, with the former recording 103 injuries, and the latter registering 38, from just five incidents at each location.
Gilgit-Baltistan remained the least affected region.
Compared to last year, though small in absolute numbers, the region recorded a four-fold increase from one to four fatalities, according to the report.
The PICSS report, released in December last week said: "Militant attacks climbed to their highest annual total since 2014, and the use of suicide bombings and small drones showed a clear upward trend."
According to statistics released by PICSS, combat-related deaths in 2025 rose by 73 per cent to 3,387, compared to 1,950 in 2024.
Fatalities included 2,115 terrorists, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees (combatants).
The report added that terrorists accounted for about 62 per cent of total combat-related deaths, and their 2,115 fatalities represented the highest annual terrorist death toll since 2015, when 2,322 militants were killed.
Compared to 2024, terrorist deaths increased by 122 per cent, as 951 militants were killed in 2024.
PICSS also recorded 664 fatalities among security personnel in 2025, a 26 per cent rise from 528 in 2024 and the highest annual figure since 2011, when 677 personnel lost their lives.
Civilian deaths also increased by 24 per cent to 580 in 2025, compared to 468 in 2024, marking the highest annual civilian toll since 2015, when 642 civilians were killed.