PESHAWAR: A total of 2,396 police officers and personnel have lost their lives in terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over the past 25 years, with 2025 recording the highest annual death toll since 2002, according to official data released by the Central Police Office (CPO) in Peshawar.
The report shows that 235 police personnel were martyred in 2025, making it the deadliest year for the provincial police in more than two decades.
According to the CPO statistics, 236 police personnel were killed between 1970 and 1999. However, attacks on police intensified after militancy escalated in the region from 2007 onward, leading to a sharp rise in casualties from bombings, targeted killings and armed assaults.
The report said 101 police personnel were killed in 2007, followed by 172 in 2008 and 210 in 2009. The annual death toll stood at 108 in 2010, 154 in 2011, 106 in 2012, 135 in 2013, and 111 in 2014, as terrorism-related violence continued across the province.
After a relative decline in subsequent years, attacks on police surged again in 2022, when 93 personnel were killed. The figure rose to 197 in 2023, before declining to 169 in 2024. In 2025, however, fatalities climbed to a record 235, the highest annual total since 2002.
The report further stated that 150 police personnel have already been martyred during the first seven months of the current year, highlighting the continued security challenges facing the province.
Among those killed in terrorist attacks over the years are two Additional Inspectors General (AIGs), two Deputy Inspectors General (DIGs), one Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), six Superintendents of Police (SPs), 21 Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs), and 51 inspectors. Constables have suffered the heaviest losses, accounting for 1,649 of the total fatalities.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa observes Police Martyrs’ Day every August to honour officers and personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty. The main commemorative ceremony this year will be held in Peshawar.
Read also: Security forces foil militant infiltration attempt in Kharan city
