Pakistan\u2019s chief military spokesperson on Tuesday said that 80 per cent of all terrorist incidents in the country have occurred in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, attributing the trend to what he described as a politically permissive environment for militants and an emerging nexus between political and terrorist elements in the province.<\/p>\n
Addressing a press conference, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the prevailing environment had enabled extremist groups to organise, build facilitation networks and repeatedly challenge the writ of the state, with implications for the country\u2019s overall security situation.<\/p>\n
During the briefing, the DG ISPR strongly criticised Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its leadership over their stated positions on counterterrorism. He played video clips of senior PTI leaders, including the K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, and displayed screenshots of statements attributed to PTI founder Imran Khan, questioning what he termed their narrative on the fight against terrorism.<\/p>\n
Referring to international assessments, Lt Gen Chaudhry said the United Nations had acknowledged the presence of 20 international terrorist organisations operating in the region. \u201cAsk Tajikistan \u2014 it says terrorism is emanating from here. Ask Uzbekistan \u2014 it says the same. Ask Iran \u2014 it says the same. Ask Pakistan \u2014 and it says the same,\u201d he said, rejecting what he described as a \u201cfalse narrative\u201d that portrayed Pakistan as the only country facing the problem. \u201cWho exactly is satisfied with this situation, and who is saying that things are going well there?\u201d he asked, alleging that misleading claims were being spread to confuse the public.<\/p>\n
The DG ISPR also took exception to assertions that security personnel were sacrificing their lives for \u201cminerals or dollars\u201d, saying such claims insulted the sacrifices of martyrs. He said Pakistan, including K-P, was rich in mineral resources but stressed that peace was essential for their responsible development. \u201cWe want these resources to benefit the people of K-P, their children and future generations \u2014 but without peace, how will that be possible?\u201d he said, noting that young people from the province were among those being martyred.<\/p>\n
Referring to a recently martyred army Major Adeem, he asked whether the officer was not from Dera Ismail Khan and how many young men from the province had laid down their lives, questioning whether such statements honoured or demeaned their sacrifices.<\/p>\n
Responding to calls for the military\u2019s withdrawal from certain areas, Lt Gen Chaudhry said the army was a federal force operating under federal directives, adding that safeguarding Pakistan\u2019s territorial integrity and security was a constitutional and legal responsibility. \u201cNo one has the authority to allow their province or areas to be handed over to terrorists for the sake of politics or to serve undisclosed interests,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Recalling past developments, the DG ISPR warned that similar political rhetoric in the past had led to the army\u2019s withdrawal from Swat, with grave consequences. \u201cWhat followed was not a small price \u2014 hundreds, even thousands of children and civilians in Swat, Matta and across KP paid with their lives, along with soldiers,\u201d he said, questioning whether there was now an attempt to once again oppose operations and allow militant control, thereby enabling the spread of a terrorism nexus across the region.<\/p>\n
He accused terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan and alleged Indian support of fuelling terrorism inside Pakistan, saying the country faced an unprecedented security challenge in 2025.<\/p>\n
DG ISPR said militant organisations were using Afghan territory as their operational base, while funding and support were coming from India.<\/p>\n
Referring to what he described as new investment patterns linked to terrorism, Chaudhry said, \u201cThe most prominent pattern affecting Pakistan points towards India.\u201d He added that Afghanistan remained the base of operations for militant groups targeting Pakistan.<\/p>\n
The DG ISPR said a \u201cwar economy\u201d was a major driver of terrorism. Citing reports, he said around $147 billion was spent on Afghanistan\u2019s reconstruction, raising questions about where the money went. He said when such financial flows stopped, groups dependent on conflict sought to sustain themselves by spreading terrorism across the region.<\/p>\n
He also said $7.2 billion worth of US military equipment, including advanced weapons, was left behind in Afghanistan, adding that political and internal facilitation had taken place during the same period. Pakistan, he said, took a firm stand against these elements in 2023.<\/p>\n
Chaudhry said developments in Afghanistan since 2021 had reshaped the terrorism landscape. He referred to the Doha agreement between the Afghan Taliban and the United States and its international partners, which committed to forming an inclusive government, preventing the use of Afghan territory for terrorism and protecting women\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n
However, he said those commitments were not fulfilled. \u201cAn inclusive government did not form, Afghan territory was used by multiple terrorist organisations, and groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) began operating from Afghanistan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that due to the situation in Syria, around 2,500 militants had recently moved to Afghanistan, saying they were neither Afghan nor Pakistani.<\/p>\n
The military spokesperson said 2025 was a \u201clandmark and consequential year in our fight against terrorism,\u201d as security forces launched an extensive nationwide campaign amid a sharp rise in attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the only purpose of this press conference, and I would request that we remain focused on counter-terrorism, as terrorism is the biggest threat being faced by the state of Pakistan right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to the DG ISPR, security forces conducted an average of more than 206 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) daily in 2025. By the end of the year, the total number of IBOs reached 75,175.<\/p>\n
Most operations were carried out in Balochistan, where 58,778 IBOs were conducted. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa followed with 14,658 operations, while 1,739 took place in the rest of the country.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Chaudhry said 5,397 terrorist incidents were reported nationwide during the year. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was the worst affected, with 3,811 incidents, accounting for 71% of the total. Balochistan recorded 1,557 incidents, or 29%, while only 29 incidents were reported elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Security forces killed 2,597 militants during the year, including 1,803 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 784 in Balochistan, he said. A total of 27 suicide bombers were reported, with 16 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 10 in Balochistan.<\/p>\n
The DG ISPR said\u00a0Fitna-al-Hindustan\u00a0\u2013 a term he used to refer to Baloch militant groups \u2013 had no connection with Balochistan. He added that security forces faced intense challenges, with 1,235 soldiers martyred during operations.<\/p>\n
Presenting data from 2021 to 2025, Chaudhry said terrorism-related incidents showed a steady and then sharp rise. In 2021, there were 761 incidents, with 193 militants killed and 592 security personnel martyred.<\/p>\n
In 2022, incidents increased to 1,020, with 443 militants killed and 644 personnel martyred, he said.<\/p>\n
The situation worsened in 2023, when incidents rose to 1,811. During the year, 691 militants were killed and 980 security personnel lost their lives.<\/p>\n
In 2024, incidents climbed further to 3,014, with 1,053 militants killed and 989 personnel martyred, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe surge peaked in 2025,\u201d Chaudhry said. \u201cIncidents jumped to 5,397, 2,597 militants were killed, and the number of martyred personnel reached its highest level at 1,235.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also outlined major attacks carried out during the year across the country, targeting military installations, law enforcement personnel, civilians and children.<\/p>\n
On March 4, Bannu Cantonment in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was attacked, killing 18 people, including five law enforcement personnel and 13 civilians. Security forces killed 16 militants.<\/p>\n
On March 11, the Jaffar Express was attacked in Bolan, killing 25 people \u2014 four law enforcement personnel and 21 civilians \u2014 while 33 militants were killed. On March 16, a bus carrying Frontier Corps personnel was attacked in Nushki, killing five people, including three law enforcement personnel and two civilians.<\/p>\n
On May 21, a school bus was attacked in Khuzdar, killing five civilians. One militant was killed.<\/p>\n
After a brief lull, attacks resumed in September. On September 2, Frontier Corps North headquarters in Bannu was attacked, killing six law enforcement personnel. On September 30, an attack on Frontier Corps headquarters in Quetta killed 11 people, including three law enforcement personnel and eight civilians.<\/p>\n
On October 10, a police training school in Dera Ismail Khan was attacked, killing seven people \u2014 six law enforcement personnel and one civilian. In November, a cadet college in Wana was attacked, killing five people, including three law enforcement personnel and two civilians.<\/p>\n
On November 11, an attack on the Judicial Complex in Islamabad killed 11 civilians. The final incident occurred on November 24 in Peshawar, where an attack on Frontier Corps North headquarters killed three law enforcement personnel.<\/p>\n
Chaudhry said\u00a0Fitna Al-Khawarij\u00a0\u2013 a name used for banned TTP militants \u2013 were the first to use armed quadcopters, alleging full Indian support.<\/p>\n
He said a specialised militant wing operated armed drones to target mosques, public places and residential areas, often using women and children as human shields.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Pakistan Army uses drones only for surveillance purposes,\u201d Chaudhry said.<\/p>\n
He rejected what he called a false narrative that the fight against terrorism was the military\u2019s war alone, stressing that it was a national struggle.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the nation does not stand united, its consequences will reach homes, schools, markets and offices,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n
\u2013 This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan\u2019s chief military spokesperson on Tuesday said that 80 per cent of all terrorist incidents in the country have occurred in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, attributing the trend to what he described as a politically permissive environment for militants and an emerging nexus between political and terrorist elements in the province. Addressing a press conference, Director General of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=669"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":672,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669\/revisions\/672"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}