Pakistan's Deadly Surge: 2025 Could Be Worst Year in a Decade

As per the report, Pakistan reported at least 901 fatalities and 599 injuries – among civilians, security personnel, and outlaws – resulting from 329 incidents of violence, including terror attacks and counter-terror operations.

A report in CRSS stated, "In just three quarters, 2025 has proven nearly as deadly as all of 2024, with 2414 fatalities recorded compared to the entire tally of 2024 (2546), which, with an entire quarter still remaining, indicates that 2025 is on course to surpass last year’s toll, and intensification of militant violence and the expanded scale of counter-terrorism operations. If the current trend continues, 2025 could mark one of the deadliest years in a decade. A year-on-year comparison reinforces this shift."

Pakistan recorded 1,527 fatalities between January-September, 2024 (Q1-Q3). The 2414 fatalities during the same period showcases a surge of 58 per cent in violence. However, the source of fatalities has shifted. As many as 505 deaths were reported due to security operations in 2024 while 1022 people died due to terror attacks. The report stated, "In 2025, security operations accounted for 1265 deaths – over half of the total fatalities. This shift underscores how the state’s response has intensified, with security forces inflicting heavier losses on militants."

The CRSS report added: "Accounting for over 96 per cent of the country’s violence in this quarter, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan stood out as the most volatile provinces. KP was the worst-hit region, suffering nearly 71 per cent (638) of the total violence-linked fatalities, and over 67 per cent (221) of the incidents of violence, followed by Balochistan, with over 25 per cent fatalities (230) and incidents (85). The number of fatalities, injuries, and incidents recorded in all other regions remained relatively low."

In comparison to Q2, 2025, the total fatalities increased from 616 to 901 in the period under review, a metric behind the reported rise of over 46 per cent in violence, where the most significant rise was recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, with 64 per cent (from 390 to 638 fatalities) and 21 per cent (from 190 to 230) rise, respectively. Sindh also reported a rise in fatalities by 162 per cent, though the number of deaths was less; from 8 in Q2 to 21 in Q3, 2025.

The report said, "It is worth noting that in the last quarter, CRSS had reported around 32% and 40% less violence recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces, respectively, compared to Q1. Of the security landscape in Q3, 2025 by the victims of violence reveals some interesting security trends; with both alarming and encouraging insights. The total number of outlaws’ fatalities recorded (516) were still more than the fatalities suffered by security personnel and civilians combined (385)."

"The outlaws accounted for the majority of fatalities recorded in this quarter i.e. 57 per cent (516), followed by civilians with over 24 per cent (219) fatalities, and security personnel with over 18 per cent (166). Compared to Q2, 2025, these figures mark almost 55 per cent more losses among outlaws (516 vs 333), over 43 per cent among civilians (219 vs 153), and nearly 28 per cent among security personnel (166 vs 130)," it added.

- IANS