ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s State Minister for Interior Tallal Chaudhry said on Monday more than 1,020 law enforcement personnel had been killed in militant violence this year, describing 2025 as the “peak” of militancy in the country.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in militant attacks in recent years, particularly in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces bordering Afghanistan. The violence has largely been driven by the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and separatist groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of allowing militant groups to use its territory to plan attacks against Pakistan, an allegation Kabul denies. Pakistan also accuses India of backing separatist and militant groups operating inside the country, which New Delhi rejects.
“During the past year, more than 175,000 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) were conducted,” Chaudhry said in an address to Pakistan’s National Assembly, adding that 1,020 law enforcement personnel were killed in the violence, describing it as the highest annual toll among security and law enforcement agencies in Pakistan’s history.
“In these operations, Pakistan witnessed the highest number of law-enforcement and security personnel casualties in its history,” he said. “Among civilians, 783 people were martyred and 1,763 were injured ... For the first time in a single year, 1,890 terrorists were killed ... Terrorism has existed since 2000, but 2025 was its peak.”
The minister said authorities recorded 3,355 militant incidents during the year, 95 percent of them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Chaudhry said a large number of the militants killed in operations were Afghan nationals and alleged that armed groups continued to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan.
Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have deteriorated sharply over the past year as cross-border violence increased, leading to some of the most serious military confrontations between the two neighbors in recent years.
Earlier this month, Pakistan said it had shot down an Afghan drone that entered its airspace, rejecting Afghan claims it had carried out strikes against Daesh hideouts in Pakistan’s border regions.
In May, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warned Afghanistan of “open war” if Kabul failed to stop militants from launching attacks from its territory.
