WHAT does prolonged conflict actually cost a country? A landmark 2026 study in the American Economic Review, drawing on 150 years of data across 60 countries, found that an average-intensity conflict can shrink an economy by up to 30 percent over five years, raise inflation by 15 percentage points and even harm neighbouring countries. The damage compounds as conflict drives borrowing, borrowing becomes debt and rising interest payments crowd out spending on schools, hospitals and infrastructure, slowing growth further. Pakistan ranked first globally for terrorism impact in 2025, with more than 1,000 attacks and over 1,100 deaths. That destructive cycle has persisted for more than two decades.

The violence has come in repeated waves. Attacks rose from around 150 incidents in 2000 to nearly........

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