Pakistan sees decline in militant violence for 2nd straight month: PICSS

The Islamabad-based think tank documented 85 verified militant attacks in April, down from 146 in March, a 42 per cent decrease. As per the data, fatalities resulting from militant attacks fell from 106 in March to 60 in April, continuing a downward trend that began the previous month, when overall combat-related deaths dropped by 35pc.

The report said that the improvement follows Pakistan’s cross-border military campaign targeting militant groups and Taliban positions between February 26 and March 18, which concluded with a suspension and subsequent talks in Urumqi, China.

Pakistan had launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq on the night of February 26, following unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban from across the border.

According to the PICSS report, total combat-related deaths — including those from militant attacks and security forces operations — stood at 291 in April. Militants accounted for 224 of these deaths, representing 77pc of the total. The remaining casualties included 28 security forces personnel, 37 civilians, and two members of pro-government peace committees.

It said that the losses among security forces personnel also declined significantly, falling from 59 in March to 28 in April, which was a 53pc reduction. It said that civilian fatalities remained relatively stable, with 37 deaths recorded in April compared to 39 in March.

The data also showed a notable decline in injuries. Overall injuries dropped from 210 in March to 131 in April, a 38pc decrease. Civilian injuries fell from 98 to 54, while militant injuries declined from 57 to 31. Injuries among security forces personnel decreased slightly from 48 to 46, and no injuries were reported among pro-government peace committee members in April.

The report said that 85 militant attacks recorded during the month were largely low-intensity incidents, with a few exceptions. These included two suicide attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district and a high-profile assault on a mining facility operated in Balochistan’s Chagai district.

The report noted that despite the drop in attacks, operations conducted by security forces remained robust. It said that 224 militants were killed in April, compared to 228 in March. In total, security forces killed 988 militants during the first four months of 2026, the report said.

Regionally, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continued to record the highest number of militant attacks, followed by Balochistan. The PICSS report said that in mainland KP, attacks declined slightly from 51 in March to 45 in April, while fatalities remained unchanged at 34.

It said that the most significant improvement was observed in KP’s tribal districts, where militant attacks dropped by 40pc, from 35 in March to 21 in April. Deaths from these attacks fell sharply to six, an 82pc decline.

At the same time, security forces intensified operations in the region, killing 120 militants — up from 24 in March — accounting for more than half of all militant fatalities nationwide in April, the report said.

According to the data, Balochistan also experienced a notable improvement, with militant attacks falling from 59 in March to 18 in April, a 69pc reduction.

These attacks resulted in 17 deaths, including 10 linked to the attack on the mining facility in Chagai. Security forces killed 66 militants in the province during April, although this figure was lower than the 145 militants killed in March, the data showed.

Elsewhere, an isolated attack in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Chilas district resulted in the deaths of three police personnel.

The PICSS report said that no militant attacks were reported in Punjab, Sindh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, or Islamabad during the month of April. However, intelligence-based operations conducted by security forces in these regions led to the arrest of eight suspects — five in Sindh, two in Punjab and one in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Cumulatively, during the first four months of 2026, the PICSS recorded 401 militant attacks across Pakistan. These attacks resulted in the deaths of 190 civilians, 158 security forces personnel, and seven members of pro-government peace committees, it said.

Injuries during the same period included 469 civilians, 167 security personnel, and seven peace committee members. Meanwhile, security forces killed 988 militants and arrested 121 suspects nationwide, it stated.