‘Balochistan’s violence witnessed 83pc surge in third quarter’

Islamabad : Pakistan recorded a sharp increase in violence-linked fatalities in third Quarter (Q3) of 2026, reversing the declining trend reported in Q1 and Q2, with terrorism and counter-terrorism linked deaths surging by 83percent compared with Q2 with its death toll more than tripled

In a report of Q3 just released by Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Balochistan accounted for nearly 88percent of the national increase and overtook Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the worst-hit province in both fatalities and recorded incidents.

Outlaws’ fatalities more than doubled and accounted for nearly three-quarters of the additional deaths nationwide. However, the combined death toll among civilians and security personnel also rose by nearly 54percent, indicating that the increased losses extended across all three groups.

The report recorded at least 1415 violence-linked fatalities and 558 injuries among civilians, security personnel, and outlaws across at least 385 incidents of violence involving terrorist attacks and counter-terrorism operations in Pakistan.

In terms of regional impact, southwestern Balochistan and northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces were the epicentres of violence, with the former recorded as the worst-hit region during the period under review. Jointly, they accounted for 98percent of all violence-linked fatalities, with almost 59percent (829) recorded in the former and over 39percent (556) in the latter province.

Balochistan also suffered the highest number of violent incidents in Q3, 2026, i.e., 186 (over 48percent), followed by KP with 173 (nearly 45percent of all incidents of violence). Moreover, KP suffered the majority of violence-linked injuries, i.e., 376 (over 67percent), followed by Balochistan with 163 (over 29percent).

In terms of comparative impact, the country recorded a whopping 83percent quarter-on-quarter surge in violence related to terrorism and counter-terrorism, marking the highest escalation since 2021 as well as discontinuing the trend of declining quarter-on-quarter violence reported by CRSS for the first and second quarters of the year.

The reported surge in violence between Q2 to Q3, 2026 (from 774 to 1415 deaths) was largely driven by the sharp escalation in Balochistan province, which recorded almost 213percent more fatalities compared to the last quarter, i.e., 829 vs 265.