"After reaching a peak in October 2023, when Pakistanis lodged around 3 400 applications, the monthly figures have followed a downward trend, standing at 1 900 in October 2024," read a statement issued by the EU’s Agency for Asylum.

Italy was the main receiving country for Pakistani applications, followed at a distance by France, Greece and Germany.

"Over the same period, EU+ countries issued around 20 000 decisions at first instance on Pakistani applications, with just 12 % of granting refugee status or subsidiary protection," the statement said.

At the end of October 2024, there were nearly 34 000 decisions pending at first instance.

The report said violence in Pakistan has escalated since October 2023 particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, with groups such as the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) intensifying their insurgent activities.