Pakistan reported 245 cases of terrorist attacks and counter-terrorism operations during the first quarter of 2024. This information was given in the report of a think tank.
It said it resulted in the deaths of a total of 432 people, including civilians, security personnel and insurgents, while 370 were injured.
According to the security report released by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), 92 percent of the total deaths during this period occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces bordering Afghanistan while 86 percent were due to attacks (terrorism-related incidents). and security forces operations) also took place in the area.
Separately, 51 percent of all deaths in the first quarter of 2024 occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 41 percent in Balochistan.
The figures show that the remaining areas were relatively quiet, with the remaining eight percent of all cases resulting in deaths. Terrorist organizations have claimed responsibility for less than 20 percent of the total deaths due to terrorism in the first quarter of 2024.
A new terrorist group called Jabhat Ansar al-Mahdi Khorasan (JAMK), affiliated with the Gul Bahadur group, has emerged.
In addition to the casualties during terrorism and counter-terrorism operations, there were 64 incidents of vandalism targeting government, politicians and private and security properties in the country.
A shocking 96 per cent increase in violence was recorded in Balochistan in the first quarter as the figure rose from 91 people who lost their lives in the last quarter of 2023 to 178 in the first quarter of 2024.
Sindh saw an increase of about 47 percent in violence, although the death toll was much lower. The regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan recorded a reduction in violence of 24 per cent, 85 per cent and 65 per cent respectively.
Despite a significant reduction in violence in Gilgit-Baltistan during the period under review, the province’s interior minister issued a terrorist threat alert on March 31, 2024, over the possibility of attacks by the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Of the nearly 200 terrorist attacks in the first quarter of the current year, 65 percent (281) of the deaths occurred among civilians and security forces personnel.
Whereas in 48 anti-terrorism operations, only 35 percent (151) deaths were of criminals. A total of 156 civilians (36 percent) lost their lives, more than any other category of casualties.