Opinion | Multiple Attacks on Pakistani Security Forces, An Analysis

Pakistan today finds itself confronting a difficult reality. The very extremism and terrorism that once served short-term strategic calculations now appear to be threatening the country’s own internal cohesion and security. The surge in attacks on security forces is not merely a law-and-order issue but a reflection of deeper structural, political, and ideological challenges the Pakistani state and military establishment face.

There is a saying: what goes around comes around or as you sow, so shall you reap. No country perhaps understands this reality better today than Pakistan. For decades, Pakistan has been accused of nurturing and supporting terrorism for its so-called strategic advantages against its neighbours, especially India. These policies have, over the years, contributed to the deaths of security personnel and innocent civilians, leaving behind shattered families, orphaned children, and deep scars across the region. That, however, remains a separate debate.

Recently, I came across a news report about a suicide attack on a security installation in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, particularly in the Bajaur district, where a civilian and at least nine Pakistani security personnel were killed. As I read the news, the human loss and suffering were painful to witness. Out of curiosity and concern, I began exploring similar incidents further, only to discover that such attacks have become alarmingly frequent in Pakistan in recent times.

Bombings, suicide attacks, ambushes, mortar shelling, and firing incidents have increasingly targeted Pakistani security forces across various regions, especially Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. In another recent incident, a deadly car bomb and mortar attack reportedly left over twenty people dead in the same broader region, sending waves of grief and fear among countless families. Such repeated violence highlights the worsening security situation prevailing inside Pakistan.

Going into a bit of stats, not too far, just a year back, according to reports, Pakistan experienced its deadliest year in over a decade. Alone in 2025, around 700 security forces personnel and 580 civilians, totalling close to 1300, were killed in conflict-related incidents. These are official figures; unofficial counts could be much higher. 2025 saw a 34 percent increase in such attacks, with 1033 recorded incidents. In 2026, the numbers are more worrisome. In quarter 1 of 2026, over 363 security force personnel and close to 250 civilians were killed in various terror attacks. The number of deaths of militants and rebels is not mentioned. These are the true numbers for just less than 2 years. Imagine the deaths and losses of a decade or seven decades.

Over the last few years, Pakistan has witnessed substantial surges in such attacks and deaths. This not only highlights the capabilities of such organizations but also Pakistan’s ailing state security apparatus. The increasing frequency of these incidents’ points to persistent internal security challenges. Loopholes in the security system are evident when your own forces are not safe and are being targeted in such attacks, how can you ensure the security of unarmed common citizens?

In early February, an armed gunman killed up to 30 worshippers in a mosque in Islamabad outskirts. When terror reaches the capital, it signifies the fragility and incapability of the security system.

BLA has been accused, and it has taken responsibility as well, for many attacks; let’s talk about it. It originated in deprived Balochistan. Balochistan is a rich and strategic province of Pakistan, yet deprived of roads, education, and basic facilities in Punjab-dominated Pakistan. Over time, this negligence turned into resentment and grievances, and then protests, but rather than addressing the protesters, Pakistan replied with harsh crackdowns and brutal suppression, and over time it turned into separatism. Human rights abuses are common; every day we hear about forced disappearances, custodial killings, and suppression of dissent.

At second on the list is TTP, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. It aims to overthrow the Pakistan government and establish Sharia law. Its history goes back to 2007, the year of its emergence, unifying factions that opposed military operations like Zarb-e-Azb in semi-autonomous and backward FATA, which shares the same fate as Balochistan. This eventually led to an armed revolt, and now Pakistan is bearing the brunt of its own policies and actions.

The worsening security environment has created a difficult challenge for the Pakistani military establishment, which for decades projected itself as the ultimate guarantor of national stability and security. Despite Pakistan possessing one of the region’s largest military forces and allocating substantial resources toward defence, militant attacks continue to occur with alarming regularity. This contradiction has increasingly become a matter of domestic debate as well as international scrutiny.

Pakistan’s economic crisis further complicates the situation. The country has been struggling with inflation, unemployment, declining foreign reserves, political instability, and dependence on external financial assistance, including repeated International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout packages. Economic hardship often creates conditions that extremist organizations exploit for recruitment and radicalization. Simultaneously, limited economic opportunities and weak governance in conflict-prone regions continue to fuel resentment among local populations.

Well, having all that said, I, as a common Kashmiri, stand against all sorts of terror anywhere. Bearing the brunt of the same, I feel the pain. For decades, Pakistan has been a disturbing neighbour. It has nurtured terrorism against India, carried out terror attacks in Kashmir and the rest of the country, and in doing so, it forgot to address its own citizens and their concerns, leaving villages and provinces underdeveloped. This was well used by such factions for recruitment purposes. At the same time, operations like Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad did not target only militant ecosystems but civilians as well; hundreds and thousands were displaced. Moreover, Pakistan’s way of dealing with dissent and protesters is globally infamous; it is brutal and violent.

Attacks not only in such areas but even in major protected cities like Islamabad expose Pakistan’s deep security failures and negligence. This indicates that militant networks are not fully contained despite heavy security presence in urban centres. It also raises serious questions about intelligence coordination and preventive security mechanisms. Such incidents highlight the widening gap between security claims and ground realities.

So, in nutshell, Pakistan, while preaching peace and security to the outside world, has internal optics that are not going to last longer. While growing up, one would often hear about some terror blast in Pakistan. The terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore exposed that no city or delegation is safe; it exposed Pakistan’s security cover brutally. We just pray that Pakistan addresses its own concerns before lecturing others and meddling in matters that do not belong to it.

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