ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Terrorist attacks in Pakistan fell by 37 per cent in October, with deaths from those attacks down 57 per cent, according to figures released on Sunday by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), though kidnappings rose to their highest level in a year.
The Islamabad-based think tank recorded 143 terrorist attacks in October, against 226 in September, ending two straight months of rising violence. The attacks killed 111 people, down from 260, and injured 69, down from 242. Injuries were the lowest of any month in the past year.
Suicide attacks also dropped sharply. There was one in October, a vehicle-borne attack that caused no deaths or injuries, compared with three in September that killed 45 people and injured 138.
Counting both terrorist attacks and security operations, PICSS recorded 272 deaths in October: 169 terrorists, 53 security forces personnel martyred, 45 civilians and five peace committee members. Security forces killed 156 terrorists in operations during the month and arrested seven suspects.
Balochistan and KP lead the fall
Balochistan saw one of the biggest improvements, with attacks down 46 per cent from 132 to 71 and deaths from attacks down from 136 to 44. Security forces killed 79 terrorists in the province. In mainland Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, attacks fell 31 per cent from 58 to 40, deaths from 90 to 38 and injuries from 165 to 19, and 42 terrorists were killed in operations.
The former FATA region saw a smaller fall, with 30 attacks against 34 in September and deaths down from 33 to 25, while 35 terrorists were killed in operations. Punjab recorded two attacks that killed four people, after none in September. Sindh, Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan recorded no attacks.
Kidnappings a ‘serious concern’
Terrorist groups kidnapped 88 people nationwide in October, up 22 per cent from 72 in September and the highest monthly figure in the past 12 months. Balochistan accounted for 70 of them, nearly 80 per cent of the total, and PICSS called kidnappings a serious security concern.
The think tank said the longer-term picture remained challenging. Pakistan has seen 1,376 terrorist attacks in the first 10 months of 2026, up 53 per cent on the same period last year. Attacks and operations together have caused 3,902 deaths, including 2,597 terrorists, 645 security forces personnel and 595 civilians.
