ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan saw a second consecutive month of improvement in security indicators in April 2026, with militant attacks and related casualties falling sharply, according to a new report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).
The think tank recorded 85 verified militant attacks in April, down from 146 in March – a 42% drop, while deaths from such attacks fell from 106 to 60, extending a downward trajectory that began the previous month.
The report attributes the improvement to Pakistan’s cross-border military campaign against militant groups and Taliban positions between February 26 and March 18, which later gave way to a suspension of hostilities and talks in Urumqi, China.
The operation, called Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, was launched after unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban from across the border.
Despite the drop in attacks, total combat-related deaths, including deaths from militant violence and security operations, stood at 291 in April.
Militants accounted for 224 of these deaths, representing 77% of the total.
The remaining casualties included 28 security personnel, 37 civilians and two members of pro-government peace committees.
Casualties among security forces fell significantly from 59 in March to 28 in April, a 53% drop, while civilian deaths remained relatively stable, falling slightly from 39 to 37.
The report also highlighted a remarkable reduction in injuries. The total number of injuries fell from 210 in March to 131 in April, a decrease of 38%.
Civilian injuries fell from 98 to 54, while militant injuries fell from 57 to 31.
Injuries among security personnel fell marginally from 48 to 46, and no injuries were reported among pro-government peace committee members.
According to PICSS, most of the 85 attacks recorded in April were low-intensity incidents, although a few high-impact incidents stood out.
These included two suicide attacks in the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a major attack on a mining facility in the Chagai district of Balochistan.
Regionally, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained the most affected province, followed by Balochistan. In mainland KP, attacks fell slightly from 51 in March to 45 in April, while the number of deaths remained unchanged at 34.
The most significant improvement was recorded in KP’s tribal districts, where attacks fell by 40% from 35 to 21 and deaths fell sharply by 82% to just six.
At the same time, security forces intensified operations in these areas, killing 120 militants in April – up from 24 in March – accounting for more than half of all militant deaths nationwide during the month.
