Pakistan on brink: Conflict and terror-related deaths rise 73% in 2025, report says

Violence-ridden Pakistan witnessed a sharp 73 per cent rise in conflict-related deaths this year, with security forces, civilians and militants suffering heavy casualties in ongoing violence, a Pakistan-based think tank said. The report highlights that the attacks have intensified in scale and frequency in 2025, with militant strikes soaring to the highest level since 2014, with an increased use of suicide bombings and small armed drones.

According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), combat-related deaths in 2025 surged by 73% to 3,387, up from 1,950 in 2024. The toll included 2,115 militants, 664 security personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees, the think tank said in a press release.

The think tank underlined that this year has been particularly bloody for Pakistani security forces. According to PICSS data, 664 security personnel died in 2025, a steep rise of 26 per cent compared to 528 in 2024. The year recorded the highest armed forces deaths since 2011, when 677 armed forces personnel lost their lives.

The civilian deaths in the conflicts also rose by 24 per cent to 580 in 2025, compared to 468 last year, recording the highest civilian toll since 2015, when 642 civilians were killed.

As per PICSS statistics, over 1,063 militant strikes took place this year, registering a 17 per cent uptick from 908 in the previous year, and the highest annual total since 2014, when 1,609 militant attacks were recorded. The think tank observed a growing trend in the use of small drones, including quadcopters, with 33 such incidents recorded in 2025, alongside increased deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles by security forces.

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The report also suggests an intensified and brutal crackdown launched by the Pakistani Armed Forces, with a rise of 122 per cent in militant deaths to 1,063 deaths in 2025, against 951 militants killed in 2024.

The Pakistani Armed Forces are often criticised by human rights organisations for their kidnapping, killing of dissenters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The PICSS data also backs these claims as Pakistan arrested 497 individuals on suspicion of militant activities, marking a Substantial rise of 83 per cent from 272 in 2024.