Pakistan recorded a sharp increase in violence-linked deaths in the third quarter of 2026, with at least 1,415 people killed and 558 injured, according to a report by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
The figures represent an 83 percent increase in fatalities compared with the second quarter, when CRSS recorded 774 deaths. The latest increase reversed the declining trend recorded during the first two quarters of the year and marked the highest quarterly escalation in violence since 2021, the Islamabad-based research group said.
Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained the main centers of violence, jointly accounting for 98 percent of all violence-linked fatalities. Balochistan recorded 829 deaths, or nearly 59 percent of the national total, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 556 deaths.
Balochistan recorded the steepest deterioration, with fatalities rising 213 percent from 265 in the second quarter to 829 in the third. The province also recorded 186 violent incidents, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 173. KP, however, recorded the highest number of injuries, with 376 people wounded compared with 163 in Balochistan.
The CRSS report said more than 65 percent of the recorded fatalities, 921 deaths were among militants or other outlawed elements killed during security operations. Civilian deaths rose nearly 36 percent to 254, while fatalities among security personnel increased more than 79 percent to 240. Combined deaths among civilians and security forces rose by nearly 54 percent compared with the previous quarter.
Among groups that claimed responsibility for attacks, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was identified by CRSS as the deadliest during the quarter. The group claimed 13 attacks that resulted in 117 deaths and 65 injuries, while the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed five attacks that killed 34 people and injured 42. These figures refer to attacks claimed by the groups and do not independently establish responsibility for every incident.
The report comes amid a broader deterioration in Pakistan’s security environment, particularly in areas bordering Afghanistan. Recent attacks have included a suicide bombing at a police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan that killed at least 12 people and injured about 35, an assault on an ambulance carrying victims, and a separate attack that killed three traffic police officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The TTP claimed responsibility for the Dera Ismail Khan bombing, while no group had claimed the later attack on police at the time of reporting.
The worsening security situation has also contributed to heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban authorities of allowing TTP militants to operate from Afghanistan territory, a claim Kabul denies. Pakistan has recently carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan, while Afghan and United Nations officials have reported civilian casualties from some of the strikes.
CRSS said the latest figures demonstrate that the security situation has deteriorated sharply after the relative improvement recorded earlier in 2026, with Balochistan emerging as the main driver of the nationwide increase in violence-linked fatalities.
