Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Terrorism as a state-sponsored policy of Pakistan, introduced by military dictator General Ziaul-Haq in the 1980s to divert attention from the hanging of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, is now yielding results. Once terror-nursing was a ‘national industry’; now it’s also privatized, even as a cottage enterprise!
Terrorism is a national industry in Pakistan, employing thousands of jobless people, in both organized and unorganized sectors.
That explains why only 20 percent of the 245 terrorist attacks—and counter-operations—reported in the last three months have been claimed by terrorist outfits, most of which have been sponsored, funded, protected, and unleashed by the Pakistani Army.
According to the media reports on Monday, Pakistan reported 245 incidents of terror attacks and counter-terror operations during the first quarter of 2024, resulting in 432 fatalities and 370 injuries among civilians, security personnel, and rebels.
A think tank, Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Baluchistan provinces, both bordering Afghanistan, accounted for over 92 percent of all fatalities and 86 percent of attacks (including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations) during this period.
Individually, KP suffered 51 percent and Baluchistan 41 percent of all fatalities in the first quarter of 2024, indicating that the remaining regions were relatively peaceful, suffering less than 8 percent of all fatalities.
Interestingly, terror organizations claimed responsibility for less than 20 percent of the total casualties attributed to terrorism in the first quarter of 2024.
Meanwhile, a new terror group, Jabhat Ansar al-Mahdi Khorasan (JAMK), affiliated with the Gul Bahadur group, has also emerged.
Besides the casualties of terrorism and counter-terrorism, 64 incidents of sabotage in the unstable country were also reported, targeting properties of the government, politicians, and private and security establishments.
In the first quarter, Baluchistan recorded a staggering 96 percent surge in violence, with fatalities jumping to 178 from 91 in the last quarter of 2023.
Sindh saw a nearly 47 percent rise in violence, although fatalities were very low. However, the regions of KP, Punjab, and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) recorded decreases in violence by 24 percent, 85 percent, and 65 percent, respectively.
Despite diminished violence in GB, its home minister issued a terror threat alert on March 31, 2024, on the possibility of attacks by the banned Tehreek-e-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. Last year, GB suffered the highest number of fatalities in a decade, with 17 lives lost, the report stated.
From January to March 2024, civilians and security forces personnel suffered over 65 percent (281) of all fatalities in nearly 200 terror attacks, compared to outlaws suffering only 35 percent (151) in around 48 counter-terror operations.
The attacks on security officials and civilians outnumbered the security operations conducted against the outlaws almost fourfold.
Civilians suffered 154 fatalities (36 percent), which is more than any other category of victims.
Unlike the last quarter of 2023, the fatalities of civilians and security officials combined surged by 17 percent, whereas the fatalities of outlaws, militants, and insurgents combined decreased by almost 15 percent in the first quarter of 2024.
Surprisingly, terrorist outfits such as the banned 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 this quarter. Only the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the militant Islamic State group, or Daesh, have claimed responsibility for some attacks.
The banned insurgent 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, according to the report.