ISLAMABAD: During the first quarter of 2024, Pakistan witnessed 432 violence-linked fatalities and 370 injuries among civilians, security personnel, and outlaws, resulting from as many as 245 incidents of terror att­acks and counter-terror operations.

This includes 281 fatalities among civilians and security forces personnel.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces, both bordering Afghanistan, accounted for over 92 per cent of all fatalities and 86pc of attacks (including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations) during this period. Individually, the former suffered 51pc and the latter 41pc of all fatalities in the first quarter of 2024.

The data indicates that the remaining regions were relatively peaceful, suffering less than 8pc of all fatalities.

432 violence-linked fatalities and 370 injuries recorded; new militant group emerges

Interestingly, militant organisations claimed responsibility for less than 20pc of the total casualties attributed to terrorism in the first quarter of 2024.

A new militant group named Jabhat Ansar al-Mahdi Khorasan (JAMK), affiliated with the Gul Bahadur group, has emerged.

These are the key findings of the security report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).

In addition to the casualties of terrorism and counter-terrorism, there were 64 incidents of sabotage in the country targeting properties of the government, politicians, private, and security properties.

In the first quarter, Balochistan recorded a staggering 96pc surge in violence, with fatalities jumping to 178 from 91 in the last quarter of 2023.

Sindh saw a nearly 47pc rise in violence, though the number of fatalities was very low. However, the regions of KP, Punjab, and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) recorded encouraging decreases in violence by 24pc, 85pc, and 65pc, respectively.

Despite a notable decrease in violence observed in GB during the period under review, the GB home minister issued a terror threat alert on March 31, 2024, regarding the possibility of attacks by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The alert came following a suicide attack on a convoy of Chinese engineers in the Shangla district of KP who were working on the Dasu Dam project, resulting in the deaths of five Chinese nationals and a local driver. It’s worth noting that last year, GB suffered the highest number of fatalities in a decade, with 17 lives lost, the report stated.

In the first quarter of the current year, civilians and security forces personnel suffered over 65pc (281) of all fatalities in nearly 200 terror attacks, compared to outlaws suffering only 35pc (151) in around 48 counter-terror operations.

The attacks on security officials and civilians outnumbered the security operations conducted against the outlaws by almost fourfold. Moreover, civilians bore the heaviest brunt of violence, suffering 154 fatalities (36pc), which is more than any other category of victims, thus emerging as the primary victims of violence in this period.

Compared to the last quarter of 2023, the fatalities of civilians and security officials combined surged by 17pc, whereas the fatalities of outlaws, militants, and insurgents combined decreased by almost 15pc in the first quarter of 2024.

Individually, there was a significant increase in the number of insurgents’ fatalities, by 215pc, and a decrease of approximately 33pc in militants’ fatalities.

Surprisingly, certain terrorist outfits such as the banned Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), Lashkar-i-Islami (LI), and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LeJ), which were highly active the previous year, have abstained from claiming any acts of terrorism this quarter. Only the TTP and the militant Islamic State group, or Daesh, have claimed responsibility for some attacks.

Although the banned TTP claimed responsibility for only three terror attacks in Pakistan in the first quarter, resulting in four fatalities, an unclaimed terror incident occurred in North Waziristan on March 16, 2024, which led to the tragic loss of seven security officials, including a lieutenant-colonel and a captain.

The insurgent banned groups, Balochistan Liberation Army, Baloch Liberation Front, Baloch Raaji Ajoi Sangar, and Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army, claimed responsibility for 18 attacks (three times more than the claims of the militant groups) in the first quarter, causing 42 fatalities and 40 injuries. The prime targets of the insurgent groups were the security and government installations, including Gwadar Port Complex, Mach Jail, and Turbat Naval Base.

In the first quarter, eight incidents of sectarian violence were reported, impacting all religious communities, including Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Among the non-Muslim communities, Ahmadis endured the highest casualties (9), while three fatalities occurred among Shias due to violence. Additionally, a Sunni was also targeted in an act of violence.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2024