• From 146 in March, terror attacks down to 85 in April
• Fatalities fell from 106 to 60; security forces’ casualties dropped by 53pc
• In four months, 988 terrorists killed

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan recorded a second consecutive month of improving security indicators, with terrorists attacks and related casualties declining significantly in April, according to a report released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).

The think tank documented 85 verified terror attacks in April, down from 146 in March — a 42 per cent decrease. Fatalities resulting from these attacks also fell, from 106 in March to 60 in April, continuing a downward trend that began the previous month, when overall combat-related deaths had already dropped by 35pc.

This improvement follows Pakistan’s cross-border military campaign targeting anti-Pakistan militant groups and Taliban positions between February 26 and March 18. The campaign concluded with a ceasefire and subsequent talks held in Urumqi, China.

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

Losses among security personnel declined significantly, falling from 59 in March to 28 in April, a 53pc reduction. Civilian fatalities remained relatively stable, with 37 deaths recorded in April compared to 39 in March.

Injuries also showed a notable decline. The total number of 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 personnel decreased slightly from 48 to 46, and no injuries were reported among pro-government peace committee members in April.

The 85 terrorist attacks recorded during the month were largely low-intensity incidents, with a few exceptions. These included two suicide attacks in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a high-profile assault on a mining facility operated by National Resources Limited in Chagai district of Balochistan.

Despite the drop in attacks, security forces operations remained robust. PICSS reported that 224 assailants were killed in April, compared to 228 in March.

In total, security forces have killed 988 terrorists during the first four months of 2026.

Regionally, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continued to record the highest number of terror attacks, followed by Balochistan. In KP, attacks declined slightly from 51 in March to 45 in April, while fatalities remained unchanged at 34.

The most significant improvement was observed in the tribal districts (formerly Fata), where such 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 terrorists, up from 24 in March. This accounted for more than half of all militant fatalities nationwide in April.

Balochistan also experienced notable improvement. Terror attacks here fell from 59 in March to 18 in April, a 69pc reduction. These attacks resulted in 17 deaths, including 10 linked to the high-profile assault on the National Resources Limited mining facility in Chagai. Security forces killed 66 militants in the province during April, although this was lower than the 145 terrorists killed there in March.

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

No militant attacks were reported in Punjab, Sindh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, or Islamabad during the month. 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 AJK.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2026