Vicarious War Trauma (VWT) refers to psychological distress arising from indirect exposure to war-related suffering through media, social media, news reports, images, videos, or communication with affected individuals. Grounded in theories of vicarious traumatization and secondary traumatic stress, this study aimed to develop and validate the Vicarious War Trauma Scale (VWTS) for the Pakistani population. A cross-sectional design was employed across three studies. In Study I, an initial pool of 40 items was generated through literature review and interviews and refined to 34 items through expert evaluation. Exploratory factor analysis with maximum likelihood extraction and Promax rotation was conducted using data from 311 participants, yielding a 15-item scale with four factors: Shaky Beliefs, Empathic Distress, Hopelessness, and Anxiety, explaining 48.48% of the variance. In Study II, confirmatory factor analysis in an independent sample (N = 200) provided preliminary support for the proposed multidimensional structure. A post hoc revised second-order model with four first-order factors including two theoretically interpretable within-factor residual covariances showed acceptable fit, χ²(84) = 162.83, χ²/df = 1.94, CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.92, and RMSEA = 0.07. Study III provided validity evidence for the provisional VWTS total score based on relations with external variables, showing positive associations with intolerance of uncertainty, empathy, depression, stress, and anxiety, and a negative association with resilience. Factor-specific validity based on relations with external variables was not examined. The scale is a psychometrically promising research instrument for assessing self-reported multidimensional psychological distress associated with indirect exposure to war-related suffering. Its potential utility as a screening measure requires further evaluation through longitudinal and predictive studies and external replication. It is not intended to assess posttraumatic stress disorder or to serve as a diagnostic measure of trauma-related disorders.