ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recorded a significant drop in cross-border terrorist attacks and violence-linked fatalities after it closed down the border to Afghanistan on October 11.

Terrorist attacks went down by almost 17 per cent in December, preceded by 9pc decline in November. Terrorist violence-linked fatalities among civilians and security officials also fell in the last quarter of 2025, by nearly 4pc and 19pc each in November and December, shows data collected by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) as part of its annual security report 2025.

With an almost 34pc surge in overall violence, the year 2025 went by as the most violent year for Pakistan in a decade, says the report. The country has suffered a sustained escalation in violence for five consecutive years since 2021, coinciding with the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan; with almost 38pc in 2021, over 15pc in 2022, 56pc in 2023, nearly 67pc in 2024, and 34pc in 2025.

The comparative data for 2024 and 2025 reveals a sharp escalation in terrorism and counter-terrorism linked violence nationwide, with fatalities rising from 2555 in 2024 to 3417 in 2025, marking an increase of 862 deaths, or a roughly 34pc year-on-year surge in violence.

CRSS report says most significant surge in violence recorded in KP

The most significant surge in violence was recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the fatalities rose from 1620 in 2024 to 2331 in 2025, an absolute increase of 711 deaths, accounting for over 82pc of the net national rise and marking almost a 44pc 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 22pc higher than the previous year’s figures.

Regional impact of violence

Violence remained heavily concentrated in the country’s northwestern KP and southwestern Balochistan provinces, with both accounting for over 96pc of all fatalities and almost 93pc of violent incidents recorded during the entire 2025.

KP was the worst-hit region, suffering over 68pc (2331) of the total violence-linked fatalities, and around 63pc (795) of the incidents of violence, followed by Balochistan, accounting for 28pc (956) of the fatalities and over 30pc (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 1.15pc of total casualties, while the latter saw 51 incidents causing 56 fatalities and 40 injuries; 1.73pc of the total.

In Azad Jammu and 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.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2026