ISLAMABAD: As part of measures to ensure the seamless participation of overseas Pakistanis in the upcoming by-elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday began issuing passcodes to voters registered with the i-voting system.
According to media reports, only 7,419 people have successfully registered for the program so far, even though more than 790,000 Pakistanis live abroad and 631,909 are eligible to use the system.
The online voting initiative was developed this year to grant voting rights to overseas Pakistani, but was not fully functional during the general elections in July. The polls on Sunday will enable the authorities to test the system for the first time on a relatively small scale.
The ECP said that the codes would be valid during voting hours in Pakistan. All registered voters will be able to cast their ballot after logging onto the website, sharing their required credentials and entering the individual passwords.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Imran Khan described the overseas Pakistanis as an 'asset' for the nation, assuring them of their rights and promising to extend every possible facility in recognition of their services to the country.
The new voting facility finally address the longstanding demand of overseas nationals to have a say in the political framework of the country.
ECP issues voting codes to overseas Pakistanis
ECP issues voting codes to overseas Pakistanis
- More than 7,000 have registered to vote in Sunday’s by-polls
- Numbers are disappointing considering the fact that 790,000 make up overall population
Pakistan saw up to 17% drop in cross-border attacks after Afghan border closure — think tank
- CRSS calls 2025 the deadliest year in a decade with 3,417 violence-linked fatalities nationwide
- Violence remained concentrated in the western provinces as security forces killed 2,060 militants
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan recorded a sharp decline in cross-border militant attacks and violence-linked fatalities in the final months of 2025 after it closed its border with Afghanistan in October, even as the country endured its deadliest year in a decade overall, according to an annual security report released by a local think tank on Wednesday.
Pakistan has frequently accused Afghanistan of sheltering proscribed armed factions, such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), in the past, while also pointing a finger at the Taliban administration in Kabul for “facilitating” their attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces.
The Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) said in its report that terrorist attacks fell by nearly 17% in December, following a 9% decline in November, after Pakistan shut the border on Oct. 11. It noted that violence-linked fatalities among civilians and security personnel also declined in the final quarter of the year, falling by nearly 4% and 19% respectively in November and December.
“Pakistan recorded a significant drop in cross-border terrorist attacks and violence-linked fatalities after it closed down the border to Afghanistan,” CRSS said.
Despite the late-year decline, the think tank said 2025 “went by as the most violent year for Pakistan in a decade,” with overall violence surging nearly 34% year-on-year.
Fatalities rose from 2,555 in 2024 to 3,417 in 2025 — an increase of 862 deaths — extending a five-year upward trend in violence that coincides with the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, the report said.
“2025 marked another grim year for Pakistan’s security landscape,” it added, noting that violence has increased every year since 2021, with annual surges of nearly 38% in 2021, over 15% in 2022, 56% in 2023, nearly 67% in 2024 and 34% in 2025.
REGIONAL CONCENTRATION
Violence remained heavily concentrated in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and southwestern Balochistan provinces, which together accounted for more than 96% of all fatalities and nearly 93% of violent incidents nationwide.
KP was the worst-hit region, recording 2,331 fatalities in 2025 — a 44% increase from 1,620 deaths in 2024 — accounting for more than 82% of the net national rise in violence.
Balochistan saw fatalities rise from 787 to 956, an increase of nearly 22%.
In contrast, Punjab and Sindh recorded relatively low levels of violence, together accounting for less than 3% of total casualties, which CRSS said pointed to “relative containment of violence despite the provinces’ large populations.”
The report also flagged the spread of violence into previously calmer regions, with Azad Jammu and Kashmir recording 15 fatalities in 2025 after reporting no violence a year earlier.
MILITANT DEATH TOLL
CRSS said 2025 was also the deadliest year in a decade for militant groups, with outlaws accounting for more than 60% of all fatalities.
“2025 turned out to be the deadliest year for outlaws in a decade,” the report said, with 2,060 militants killed during at least 392 security operations, surpassing the combined fatalities of civilians and security personnel.
Security forces, however, remained the primary targets of militant groups.
The army and Frontier Corps recorded 374 fatalities, including 22 officers, while police suffered 216 casualties.
The TTP claimed responsibility for the largest share of attacks on security personnel, followed by the BLA, the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) and Daesh’s regional chapter.
