Suhail Khan
Srinagar, Jan 02: Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a landmark improvement in security during 2025, registering the fewest terrorism-related fatalities in over twenty years—a decline officials attribute to the stabilizing impact of the constitutional changes enacted in 2019.
Senior security establishment figures have described 2025 as the most successful year, with the annual death toll from terrorist incidents falling below 100 for the first time in more than two decades, even accounting for a high-profile attack in Pahalgam earlier in the year.
Data accessed by Kashmir Convener reveals that 92 individuals, including civilians, security personnel, and terrorists, were killed in such violence during the year. This marks a significant drop from preceding years, where fatalities consistently exceeded 100.
The yearly figures illustrate a sharp downward trend: 2024: 127, 2023: 134, 2022: 253, 2021: 274, and 2020: 321. Of the 2025 casualties, 46 were terrorists, both local and foreign, with a majority reportedly being Pakistani nationals. Security forces lost 17 personnel, while civilian deaths stood at 28.
The contrast with the peak violence of 2020 is stark, when 232 terrorists, 56 security personnel, and 33 civilians were killed.
According to data, enhanced counter-infiltration grids along the Line of Control (LoC) proved effective. Security forces eliminated eight terrorists in northern Kashmir and thwarted 13 infiltration attempts, sealing the frontier against militant ingress.
Throughout the year, security agencies sustained relentless pressure via round-the-clock operations. Nearly 3,000 raids were conducted, primarily across the Kashmir Valley, with additional actions in the Jammu division, systematically dismantling militant networks.
Current intelligence assessments indicate approximately 132 terrorists remain active in Jammu and Kashmir. Among these, 122 are foreign militants, predominantly from Pakistan, while the rest are local recruits.
Notably, while foreign terrorist numbers reportedly doubled in 2025, local recruitment saw a dramatic fall, with only one local individual believed to have joined militant ranks.
A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, directly linked the improved security environment to the post-Article 370 landscape. “The dividends of the constitutional reorganisation are now visible in the form of a durable peace,” the official stated. “Development and normalcy are advancing in tandem.”
The official credited the policy framework of the Modi government for transforming the ground situation, now reflected in record-low militant activity.
A retired defence expert, in conversation with Kashmir Convener, termed the milestone a “strategic success” for security forces. He commended the coordinated efforts of troops on the LoC and in the hinterland, stating their operational resolve has served as a powerful deterrent. “Repeatedly, our forces have demonstrated that Pakistan’s designs on Jammu and Kashmir, an inalienable part of India, are futile,” he said, citing operations like ‘Sindoor’ as a firm rebuttal to cross-border terrorism.
Another senior security official speaking with Kashmir Convener said that the abrogation of Article 370 was not merely a legislative act, but the surgical removal of a constitutional bottleneck that had choked peace and development for decades. He stated that the sharply declining violence graphs are its most tangible audit report.
He said the pre-2019 legal framework was a shield for separatism and a barrier to integration. Its removal has allowed security, governance, and grassroots development to operate in unison, creating an ecosystem where extremism finds it hard to breathe.
A defence expert based in Delhi, speaking with Kashmir Convener over the phone, said, “When we speak of ‘durable peace,’ we refer to the structural change post-Article 370. It enabled seamless application of national laws, strengthened counter-terror frameworks, and, crucially, restored the people’s faith in the system’s ability to deliver justice and progress.”
He said Operation Sindoor was a message in blood and iron. “It demonstrated that our intelligence grid is proactive, our response is relentless, and any high-profile terror plot will be met with an even higher-profile military consequence. It set the tone for the year,” he added.
He stated that operations like ‘Sindoor’ are critical pivot points. “They are not just about neutralizing a specific threat; they are about breaking the enemy’s will and narrative. Each such operation dismantles a module, but more importantly, it dismantles the myth of insurgent invincibility.”
He further added that the success of 2025 is built on operations like Sindoor—precise, decisive, and a clear escalation of dominance. “It showed that the rules of the game have changed. We are no longer just defending; we are systematically pre-empting and dismantling the terror infrastructure,” he said.
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