DG ISPR Say’s in 2025 Counterterrorism Operations Killed 2,597 Militants

Director General ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that  it carried out tens of thousands of counterterrorism operations in 2025, killing 2,597 militants, as officials warned that most attacks continue to originate from militant safe havens in neighboring Afghanistan.

Briefing senior journalists, ISPR Director General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said security forces conducted 75,175 intelligence-based operations last year, responding to about 5,400 terrorist incidents nationwide. He said 1,235 people, including civilians and law enforcement personnel, were killed in those attacks.

Director-General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said nearly 80 percent of terrorist incidents occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, citing what he described as a “conducive environment” for militants in the province. He added that 14,658 operations were carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 58,778 in Balochistan, and 1,739 in other parts of the country.

According to the military, 27 suicide attacks were recorded last year, with the majority taking place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Chaudhry said militant violence began resurging in 2021, following political changes in Afghanistan and the Doha agreement, under which Afghan authorities pledged to prevent terrorism from Afghan soil and ensure women’s education.

Director-General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that  militant groups, including what he described as “Fitna al-Khawarij” and India-linked networks, are based in Afghanistan and continue to receive support there. Chaudhry noted that Pakistan repeatedly urged Afghan authorities to act against militants, but tensions escalated in October when Pakistani forces targeted Afghan border posts after talks failed.

Director General Lieutenant General ISPR said that  said the state remains fully committed to eliminating terrorism and stressed that extremist groups “have no link to Islam,” adding that Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts have been widely recognized internationally.