CRSS releases report on Pakistan's security landscape in 2024
With at least 685 fatalities and 444 terror attacks suffered, 2024 turned out to be the deadliest year for security forces in a decade, according to statistics compiled by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
Equally alarming were the cumulative losses of civilians and security personnel, i.e. 1,612 fatalities, accounting for over 63% of the total recorded this year and marking 73% more losses compared to 934 terrorists and outlaws eliminated, the CRSS report states.
The overall fatalities recorded in the outgoing years were a record nine-year high, and over 66% more than 2023. On average, nearly seven lives were lost daily, with November emerging as the deadliest month across all metrics, compared to all other months of the year.
The violence took the heaviest toll on Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa which topped in human losses with 1,616 fatalities, followed by Balochistan with 782 fatalities.
Overall Toll
In 2024, Pakistan suffered 2546 violence-linked fatalities and 2267 injuries among civilians, security personnel, and outlaws. This tally of casualties stemmed from 1166 incidents of terror attacks and counter-terror operations, marking a grim year for country’s security landscape.
K-P and Balochistan accounted for 94% of all fatalities and 89% of all incidents across the country. While KP suffered most of fatalities (over 63%) recorded this year, followed by Balochistan
The fatalities recorded this year mark a record nine-year high, exceeding the 2016 level (2,432) and highest since 2015 (4,366).
Moreover, the data collected over the last 10 years shows a sharp downward trend from 2015 to 2020, with fatalities declining each year by around 33% on average. This six-year long declining and in fact, an encouraging trend in Pakistan’s security landscape, was followed by resurgence in 2021. This is evident from the fact that violence in Pakistan constantly surged by 38% spike in 2021, 15% in 2022, 56% in 2023 and 66% in 2024 (almost 44% yearly surge in violence on average since 2021).
The highest number of violence and counter-violence-linked fatalities were recorded in K-P’s newly merged districts bordering Afghanistan such as Kurram, North Waziristan, Khyber; other districts in K-P with significant fatalities included Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, and Lakki Marwat. These districts were followed by Balochistan’s districts of Quetta, Kech, Kalat, and Musakhail.
Moreover, the fatalities in these most severely affected districts of Balochistan in 2024 alone were nearly equal to their combined total recorded over the previous three years (2021–2023), while a similar trend was observed in the hardest-hit districts of K-P.
Fatalities
In 2024, an alarming disparity was observed between:
i) fatalities of civilians and security personnel vs terrorists and outlaws:
Against 934 terrorists and outlaws eliminated, the civilians and security personnel suffered 1,612 fatalities. Their combined losses accounted for over 63% of all fatalities compared to terrorists and outlaws’ making up 37% of total losses recorded this year.
ii) number of terror attacks against civilians and security forces vs counter-terror operations against outlaws:
The terror attacks on security officials and civilians outnumbered the security operations conducted against the terrorists and outlaws, by nearly four times i.e. 909 terror attacks vs 257 security operations.
Historical data on terrorism/militancy and insurgency-related fatalities, similar to the previous trend on overall fatalities, indicates a sharp upward trend since 2021. The fatalities resulting from terrorists’/militants’ attacks - after continuing to decline for 7 consecutive years (from 2014 to 2020) by a yearly average of around 29%, surged each year from 2021 onwards till the period under review, by the average of 38%.
The declining trend in terrorism and insurgency observed since 2014 also reversed sharply in 2022, with the violence escalating by 38% in 2022, 118% in 2023, and 192% in 2024 (116% surge each year on average).
Sectarian violence in 2024 claimed 182 lives and left 234 people injured. The majority of the victims were Shia community members, with 79 killed and 35 injured, followed by Sunnis, who suffered 21 fatalities and 72 injuries. Incidents involving both Shia and Sunni communities resulted in 79 deaths and 117 injuries. Additionally, the violence claimed the lives of 2 Ahmaddiya community members and one Christian.
Historical data on sectarian violence against Shia and Sunni communities reveals a deeply troubling trend, where between 2015 and 2020, sectarian violence claimed 467 lives. Alarmingly, this figure rose to 487 in the subsequent four years (2021–2024), underscoring the escalating nature of this threat and its growing impact on Pakistan’s security landscape.