The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies’ latest monthly assessment should unsettle anyone tempted to view the fight against terrorism through the lens of a single attack. Of the 2,786 deaths recorded in militant violence and counterterrorism operations during the first seven months of 2026, 205 came in July, including 112 security personnel, 74 civilians and 19 members of peace committees. Another 401 were terrorists killed in operations.
The security personnel lost in July account for more than a quarter of the 434 killed between January and July. Eighteen of the 19 peace committee members murdered during the month were from Balochistan. Eight suicide attacks, five involving explosive-laden vehicles, and 66 kidnappings–twice June’s number–show how terrorist groups are widening the cost of resisting them. Their aim is not always to hold territory. Fear can achieve much of the same result. Violence is being used to push the state out of everyday life, one road and one frightened household at a time. Balochistan bore 372 deaths, up from 109 in June. Mainland Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded another 154 deaths (terrorist deaths rose by 192 per cent, from 37 to 108). The rise in casualties reflects the severity of the threat as well as the intensity of the response. Soldiers and policemen are paying heavily to deny armed groups freedom of movement across difficult terrain.
The targeting of peace committees deserves particular attention. Local cooperation is indispensable to intelligence-led operations, yet those who assist the state are often left exposed after the immediate danger has passed. Protection, relocation and compensation for threatened intermediaries and their families cannot be left to improvised arrangements.
Security operations can clear routes, break cells and remove commanders. Their gains will remain fragile unless police, courts and district administrations are able to stay and function. Terror financing, kidnapping networks, smuggling channels and local facilitators require investigations, prosecutions and convictions, not battlefield pressure alone. Islamabad must also continue pressing the Taliban authorities over the sanctuary and support available to anti-state groups and pursue evidence of foreign support for terrorist outfits operating in Balochistan. In his latest press briefing, the military spokesperson said more than 40,000 intelligence-based operations had been conducted this year by the armed forces, police, civil armed forces and intelligence agencies. The scale confirms that the armed forces are carrying an exceptional burden. Their sacrifices have prevented the threat from becoming still worse. Civilian institutions must now turn those hard-won gains into lasting authority.
