‘Combat-related deaths jump 30pc amid wave of suicide attacks’: says PICSS

• PICSS says first two months of 2026 see almost half of all 2025 suicide attacks• Balochistan records ‘visible decline’ in attacksISLAMABAD: Combat-related fatalities in Pakistan surged by 30 per cent in February 2026, driven by a sharp increase in suicide attacks across the country, according to monthly statistics released by an Islamabad-based think tank.The report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) documented 470 deaths and 333 injuries during the month. The dead included 96 civilians, 80 security forces personnel and 294 militants. The number of injured comprised 259 civilians, 50 security forces personnel and 24 militants.The figures represent a 74pc surge in the deaths of security forces personnel, a 32pc rise in civilian deaths and a 21pc increase in militant deaths compared to the previous month.Violence escalated significantly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its merged districts (erstwhile Fata). The region saw 53 security forces personnel and six civilians killed, with an additional 35 security personnel and 48 civilians injured. The province endured three suicide bombings in February, which killed 17 people, including 14 security forces personnel, and injured 20 civilians.According to the report, the surge in attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa led to Pakistan’s cross-border air strikes and subsequent military clashes with Afghanistan.The capital also faced a major attack, with one suicide bombing in the suburbs of the Islamabad Capital Territory killing at least 34 people and injuring 165. Another suicide bombing in the Bhakkar district of Punjab province killed two police personnel and injured four others.The eight suicide attacks recorded in the first two months of the year are nearly half the total for all of 2025, when 17 such incidents occurred, a statistic the report called “a dangerous trend of rising suicide bombings.” Security forces also arrested a would-be suicide bomber during the month.In Balochistan, however, the PICSS data showed a visible decline in militant attacks following the launch of a retaliatory operation, “Raddul Fitna-1,” by security forces early in the month. Security operations in the province killed 176 militants.Overall, PICSS data for the first two months of 2026 shows 831 combat-related deaths, including 536 militants, 169 civilians and 126 security forces personnel.Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2026

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