DID Press: Pakistan’s Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) has warned that 2025 would become the country’s deadliest year if current trends in violence continue in the future. Official data show that in the first three quarters of this year, the death toll has nearly matched the total for all of last year.
According to Dawn newspaper, the CRSS reported that at least 2,414 people have been killed in violence across Pakistan during the first three quarters of 2025 — a figure that is alarmingly close to the 2,546 deaths recorded throughout 2024.
In the same period last year, 1,527 deaths were reported, marking a 58 percent increase year-on-year. The CRSS report attributes this escalation to intensified clashes between government forces and militant groups.
The report noted that in 2024, security operations accounted for 505 deaths (33% of total casualties), while terrorist attacks claimed 1,022 lives. However, in 2025 alone, security operations have already resulted in more than 1,265 deaths — more than half of all recorded fatalities this year.
Analysts say this shift reflects a tougher military response and higher militant losses amid Pakistan’s ongoing counterterrorism campaign.
Violence in Pakistan has surged since the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghan Taliban of harboring members of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a claim Taliban government in Kabul denies.
The United Nations recently warned that Afghanistan has become a “safe haven for extremist groups.”
In September, Pakistani officials told AFP that TTP activity had intensified in recent months. The same month, several members of Pakistan’s parliament accused the military of killing civilians in airstrikes.
Local councils have also cautioned that the expansion of counterterrorism operations may increase civilian casualties in rural areas, where fighting were eintense.
Observers warn that if current trends persist, 2025 may become Pakistan’s deadliest year in a decade, signaling the troubling resurgence of entrenched violence in South Asia.