92 per cent of total fatalities in Pakistan witnessed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, in first quarter of 2024: Report

The Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) issued the Q1 2024 Security Report, revealing that Pakistan witnessed at least 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.

Among the 432 fatalities, 281 included civilians and security forces personnel, according to Geo News.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces alone accounted for 51 per cent and 41 per cent of the total fatalities in Q1, 2024, respectively.

According to the report, the data indicated that the remaining regions were relatively peaceful, suffering less than 8 per cent of all deaths.

Additionally, apart from the casualties related to terrorism and counter-terrorism, 64 incidents of sabotage in Pakistan, targeting government properties, politicians, private properties, and security properties were also recorded.

The Sindh province also saw a nearly 47 per cent rise in violence, however, the number of fatalities was very low, Geo News reported.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) recorded a decrease in violence by 24 per cent, 85 per cent and 65 per cent respectively, the report stated.

Despite a notable decrease in violence in GB during the period, Gilgit Baltistan Home Minister Shamsul Haq Lone issued a terror threat alert on March 31 regarding the possibility of attacks by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The alert came in response to a recent suicide attack on a convoy of Chinese engineers who were working on the Dasu Dam project in the Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reported Geo News.

Reportedly, five Chinese nationals and a local driver died in the attack.

Notably, last year, Gilgit Baltistan suffered the highest number of fatalities in a decade, with 17 lives lost.

In Q1 2024, civilians and security forces personnel suffered over 65 per cent (281) of all fatalities in nearly 200 terror attacks, compared to outlaws suffering only 35 per cent (151) in around 48 counter-terror operations.

Moreover, the attacks on security officials and civilians outnumbered the security operations conducted against the outlaws by almost fourfold.

Compared to last quarter (Q4 2023), the fatalities of civilians and security officials combined surged by 17 per cent, whereas the fatalities of outlaws, militants and insurgents combined decreased by almost 15 per cent in the first quarter of 2024.

Militant organisations claimed responsibility for less than 20 per cent of the total casualties attributed to terrorism in Q1 2024.

However, terrorist outfits such as Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), Lashkar-e-Islami (LI), and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) which were highly active the previous year, have abstained from claiming any acts of terrorism in this quarter, Geo News reported.

Only the TTP and Daesh took responsibility for some attacks, while a new militant group, Jabhat Ansar al-Mahdi Khorasan (JAMK), affiliated with the Gul Bahadur group, emerged in Q1 2024, the report said.

Although the TTP claimed responsibility for only three terror attacks in Pakistan in this quarter, resulting in four fatalities, an unclaimed terror incident occurred in North Waziristan on March 16, this year, which led to the loss of seven security officials, including a Lt Colonel and a Captain.

The insurgent groups, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Baluch Liberation Front (BLF), Baloch Raji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS) and Sindhudesh Liberation Army (SRA), claimed responsibility for 18 attacks (three times more than the claims of the militant groups) this quarter, causing 42 fatalities and 40 injuries, reported Geo News.

The prime targets of the insurgent groups were the security and government installations, including the Gwadar Port Complex, Mach Jail and Turbat Naval Base. (ANI)