Pakistan faces an alarming rise in terrorist attacks in 2024, an annual report on Tuesday showed, as militants launched new deadly attacks in the north-west.
An Islamabad-based research group said the figures make 2024 the deadliest in nine years for Pakistani security services.
What do the figures look like?
The Center for Research and Security Studies said, “Terrorist attacks in Pakistan increased by 40% in 2024 compared to the previous year, with 905 incidents recorded, resulting in 1,177 deaths and 1,292 injuries.”
These included 444 Islamist terrorist attacks, which killed 685 soldiers and police officers and 927 civilians.
The report also took into account the number of dead rebels, saying, “On average, about seven people lost their lives per day.”
The report said, “Equally worrying was the cumulative loss of civilians and security personnel, i.e. 1612 deaths, which is more than 63% of the total loss recorded this year and 73% more loss than the elimination of 934 bandits. Is.”
The increase in violence was reportedly attributed to Islamic militants operating from across the border in Afghanistan.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a group demanding the implementation of Islamic Sharia law in the country, has claimed the maximum number of attacks.
The army pushed it back in a series of attacks that began in 2014. However, the group – which has killed nearly 80,000 Pakistanis in more than two decades of violence – came back with a vengeance after Kabul fell to the Afghan Taliban. In 2021.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) rebel group, which is seeking independence from the federal government, was said to be responsible for the second highest number of casualties.
A report published earlier this month showed that the increase in frequency and intensity of BLA attacks reflected “significant evolution” in the group’s operational tactics and capabilities.
attacks in border area
The data was released after militants attacked a security checkpoint, a government office and a police van in the country’s restive northwest on Tuesday, killing a policeman and two other people, including a child.
Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, suspicion most likely falls on the Pakistani Taliban who often target former tribal areas along the Afghan border.
rc/wd (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
