Pakistan’s military has issued its strongest warning yet this year, vowing to step up counterterrorism operations amid a dramatic surge in militant attacks and rising tensions along the border with Afghanistan. The announcement, delivered by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry during a press conference in Peshawar on October 10, 2025, underscores the gravity of a security crisis that has left hundreds dead and threatens to destabilize the wider region.
According to ISPR, Pakistan’s security forces have conducted more than 14,500 intelligence-based operations in 2024 and over 10,000 so far this year. These efforts have resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,700 militants since last year. However, the cost has been steep: at least 516 Pakistanis—including soldiers, police, and civilians—have lost their lives in 2025 alone. Lt. Gen. Chaudhry emphasized that the epicenter of this violence is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), which accounts for a staggering 70% of terror incidents this year. He attributed this concentration to a mix of political patronage, criminal collusion, and weak governance. "Governance gaps and poor policy implementation have allowed militants and their facilitators to find space [to generate violence], forcing the armed forces to fill the void with their blood and sacrifice," Chaudhry stated, as reported by Dawn.
Chaudhry did not mince words about the origins of the current crisis. He accused previous governments of granting militant groups the opportunity to regroup in KP, describing it as part of "a well-thought-out plot." The ISPR chief also pointed to a broader "political-criminal nexus" that, in his view, has fueled instability along the frontier. Criticism was leveled at the provincial governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan for what he described as failures in maintaining security. Over the past three months alone, more than 3,000 militant attacks have rocked KP, according to The Express Tribune.
The cross-border dimension of the violence is impossible to ignore. Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan of allowing its soil to be used as a sanctuary for groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad blames for some of the deadliest attacks in the country since the late 2000s. The Afghan Taliban, who now control Kabul, have repeatedly denied these allegations. Nevertheless, Chaudhry was adamant: "We just ask them [the Afghan authorities] for an extremely fair, just thing that, ‘do not let your soil become a haven for non-state actors and terrorist groups,’" he said, as cited by Al Jazeera. He added that Pakistan has shared evidence with the Taliban and expects Kabul to prevent Afghan soil from being used by non-state actors.
The tensions boiled over this week after Kabul accused Islamabad of violating its airspace and bombing a border town in Paktika province. The Afghan defense ministry condemned the strikes as "unprecedented, violent, and reprehensible," warning that "regardless of how critical the situation becomes, the consequences will fall on the Pakistani army." Pakistani officials, for their part, insisted that they have consistently prioritized diplomacy but would do "whatever is necessary" to defend the country’s territorial integrity. "For the safety of the life and property of the people of Pakistan, for the territorial integrity of Pakistan, we are doing and we will continue to do whatever is necessary," Chaudhry said.
Amid these escalating hostilities, the issue of Afghan refugees has become a flashpoint. Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghans for decades, but following a string of deadly suicide attacks—several involving Afghan nationals—the government launched a deportation drive in 2023. The policy, reaffirmed in 2021, has drawn criticism from some political quarters, including opposition leader Imran Khan. Chaudhry defended the move, stating, "In 2014, it was unanimously decided to repatriate Afghan refugees, and the same decision was reaffirmed in 2021. So where did this idea come from that they should not be sent back?"
The general also highlighted the involvement of Afghan nationals in terrorist incidents within Pakistan. Over the past two years, 161 Afghan nationals have been killed in such attacks, and 135 were neutralized during cross-border infiltration attempts. Nearly 30 suicide bombers were identified as Afghan citizens, according to ISPR figures. This, Chaudhry argued, underscores the urgent need for Kabul to clamp down on militant sanctuaries.
Another worrying trend is the proliferation of advanced weaponry among militant groups. Chaudhry revealed that weapons left behind by the United States during its 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan have fallen into the hands of the TTP. "Militants are using American weapons, and our forces have captured them during operations," he said, as reported by Reuters. Military assessments indicate that more than US$7 billion worth of weapons were abandoned in Afghanistan, many now being used against Pakistani forces. During recent operations, the army seized a number of American-made weapons from militants.
The regional dimension is further complicated by Pakistan’s accusation that India is using Afghan territory as a base for attacks through proxies. While both Kabul and New Delhi have denied these claims, Islamabad maintains that the nexus between Afghan-based militants and Indian support poses a significant threat to its security. Chaudhry criticized political groups for opposing the repatriation of Afghan refugees, describing it as "a national policy decision turned into political opportunism," and accused them of spreading "fake narratives" to undermine counterterrorism efforts.
As the violence continues, Pakistan’s military has dismissed any possibility of dialogue with militant outfits such as the TTP. "Who are we to talk to, those who behead children and play football with their heads?" Chaudhry declared, making clear that the state would not be held hostage by those facilitating militants. He emphasized that "no one will be permitted to barter away the rights or future of the people of KP for personal gain."
Opposition voices, however, have called for a more inclusive approach. Zulfi Bukhari, a close aide to former prime minister Imran Khan, argued, "The sensible path is to bring on board the largest stakeholder with the public’s mandate in KP, to craft a comprehensive strategy to dismantle terror networks while protecting civilians. We pray for our brave martyrs and urge our leaders to choose strategy over spectacle."
Pakistan’s struggle against militancy is not new. The country has launched multiple military operations over the last two decades to push back TTP fighters and other militants. But officials say that these groups have managed to regroup in the mountainous northwest during periods of fragile truces. The breakdown of a ceasefire with the TTP in November 2022 has only intensified the violence in KP and neighboring regions.
With over 40 operations being conducted daily against militants in 2025 alone, and more than 900 militants killed so far this year, the Pakistani military remains on high alert. Yet, the toll on security personnel is sobering: more than 300 have died in operations this year. The challenge is as much about governance and political will as it is about military might. As the security situation in KP and along the Afghan border remains precarious, Pakistan’s leaders face an unenviable task—balancing the need for security, the complexities of regional politics, and the humanitarian concerns surrounding millions of displaced Afghans.
As the region braces for what may come next, one thing is clear: the battle for stability in Pakistan’s northwest is far from over, and its outcome will reverberate well beyond the country’s borders.
