Pakistan's Deadliest Year: 2025 Crisis Exposes Strategic Illusions

• Pakistan's 2025 was its deadliest year, with 3,967 deaths reported by SATP, nearly doubling 2024 fatalities.
• Official casualty figures are significantly understated, especially for IED-driven attrition, which caused over 40% of security force fatalities.
• OSINT estimates suggest 2,700-3,000 security personnel killed and 3,500 injured, far higher than official tallies.
• The internal security crisis, particularly in Balochistan and the western frontier, has become uncontainable, impacting foreign policy and military posture.
• Pakistan's counterterror doctrine has failed, with violence persisting despite operations, leading to an attritional conflict and eroding public trust.

Why It Matters: Pakistan faces a deepening internal security crisis, marked by underreported casualties and failing counterterror strategies, threatening its stability.