Sajid Raina
Srinagar, Aug 4: Six years after Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was revoked and the erstwhile State was reorganised into two Union Territories, official data indicates a substantial decline in terror-related deaths across the region and overall security situation.
Between August 5, 2019, when Article 370 was abrogated, and August 4, 2025, Jammu and Kashmir recorded a total of 1,230 terror-related fatalities, according to official figures. This marks a 33.3% decline compared to the previous six-year period from 2013 to 2019, during which 1,845 such deaths were reported.
The drop reflects a notable shift in the security landscape following the region’s constitutional reorganisation.
Breaking down the fatalities by category, the post-abrogation period recorded 833 terrorist deaths, 204 security personnel fatalities, and 189 civilian deaths, along with four others whose identities were not specified. In contrast, the pre-abrogation period saw 1,121 terrorists killed, 475 security personnel lost, and 243 civilian deaths.
This translates to a 25.7% reduction in militant fatalities, a 57% drop in security force casualties, and a 22.2% decline in civilian deaths over the comparative six-year spans.
The trend becomes clearer when viewed annually. The year 2018 remains the deadliest of the last decade, with 452 fatalities, comprising 271 militants and 86 civilians. Before 2019, yearly fatalities frequently exceeded 170.
For example, 2013 recorded 172 deaths, followed by 189 in 2014, 175 in 2015, 267 in 2016, and 357 in 2017. Security forces faced heavy losses during this period, especially in 2016 and 2017, which saw 88 and 83 personnel killed, respectively.
A sharp shift was observed in the second half of 2019. From January to July that year, 233 terror-related deaths were recorded. But in the five months following the abrogation, from August to December, the number dropped sharply to just 50, reflecting a 78.5% decline in fatalities in the latter part of the year.
The following year, 2020, registered a spike in overall deaths, reaching 321.
Officials attribute this to an increase in counter-insurgency operations that resulted in the deaths of 232 terrorists. However, from 2021 onwards, annual fatalities consistently remained below 275.
The lowest fatality figures of the decade were recorded in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, a total of 134 people lost their lives in terrorism-linked incidents, followed by 127 deaths in 2024, marking a 62% and 65% drop, respectively, from the 2018 peak.
Civilian deaths followed a general downward trend but with fluctuations. The year 2023 saw only 12 civilian fatalities, the lowest in over a decade. This number rose to 31 in 2024.
As of August 2025, 28 civilian deaths have been reported, with 26 of those occurring in a single major attack in Pahalgam on April 22.
