ISLAMABAD: A total of 344 people lost their lives and 405 suffered injuries in terror-related incidents during the first quarter of the current year.

About 90pc of the victims were from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) while Sindh and the Punjab experienced a very marginal number of casualties.

According to a report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) since last year, terror related incidents have been on the rise.

The first quarter saw a 68pc rise in violence in general while KP witnessed 173pc surge, Balochistan 88pc and Sindh 5pc. Punjab was the only region, which registered a 56pcdecline in violence.

After a slight decline in January, the terror incidents recorded a 104pc rise in February and 153pc in March. This sign of a growing trend that can be attributed to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) new tactics and alliances with some Baloch separatist groups.

In December last year, the TTP had refused to extend the ceasefire it had agreed with the government and weeks thereafter saw an unusual surge in violence. Former Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid had also admitted that the TTP had escalated its attacks in the country.

Major incidents of violence took place in Peshawar, North Waziristan, Balochistan’s Kech, Quetta, Sibi, Tank, Nushki districts, and some districts of Karachi where double digit fatalities from violence were recorded.

Except for Karachi, all other districts are from KP and Balochistan.

A comparative review of terror related incidents revealed that at least 13 counter-terrorism operations by the security forces resulted in fatalities of 18 people. On the other hand, six terror attacks were thwarted with timely preemptive action by the security forces.

Of serious concern is the number of unsuccessful security operations that is higher than the unsuccessful terror attempts.

Report claimed that civilians’ casualties were the highest (40pc), followed by militants and insurgents (35pc), and security personnel (26pc). Although the fatalities of militants and insurgents went up by 100pc compared to last quarter, it couldn’t bring any respite to the rise in violence.

Three suicide attacks caused the highest number of fatalities during the first quarter. One suicide attack attempt was thwarted by the timely action of the security agencies leaving the suicide bomber dead in North Waziristan. The other two suicide attacks were better planned as they targeted the populated areas to inflict higher casualties.

Ground operations mostly carried out on the basis of intelligence reports were successful in eliminating some 69 outlaws but some security failures led to civilian fatalities.

Terror attacks involving hand-grenades, mortars, landmines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) also caused fatalities during this quarter.

In a media briefing on Feb 52022, Foreign Affairs Ministry said that the Afghan Taliban authorities have been asked to address Pakistan’s security concerns linked to the terror groups including the TTP taking shelter in Afghanistan.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2022