Terrorist violence declines after Afghan border closure, CRSS data shows

A noticeable reduction has been seen in cross-border terror attacks and deaths related to violence in Pakistan since the closure of the Afghanistan border on October 11.

Terrorist incidents decreased by nearly 17pc in December, following a decline of 9pc in November. Deaths caused by terrorist violence-related incidents among civilians as well as security personnel also declined in the last quarter of 2025 by nearly 4pc in November and 19pc in December, according to the data gathered by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) as a part of the annual security report 2025.

With an almost 34pc jump in overall violence, the year 2025 passed as the most violent period for Pakistan in the last decade, according to the report. 

So, the region witnessed the fifth consecutive year of increased violence since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, exhibiting almost 38pc violence in 2021, more than 15pc violence in 2022, 56pc violence in 2023, almost 67pc violence in 2024, and finally, 34pc violence in 2025.

Data comparison for both 2024 and 2025 shows a drastic increase in terrorism and counter-terrorism-related violence, with deaths soaring from 2555 in 2024 to 3417 in 2025, showing a rise of 862.

The largest spike in violence was noted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as the number of deaths went up from 1620 in 2024 to 2331 in 2025, an increase of 711 absolute deaths, crossing over 82pc of net national increase, and a near 44pc year-on-year-uptick in violence in the province.

Balochistan, too, showed an upward graph as fatalities rose from 787 to 956; an additional 169 deaths that are nearly 22pc higher than the comparative figures of the previous year.