Pakistan: Violence-related deaths in 2023 at a six-year high, shows data
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Pakistan recorded an alarming surge inincidents of violence in 2023. Citing government data, a report by the Dawn on Monday (Jan 1) said, Pakistan saw 1,524 violence-related deaths and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations, including nearly 1,000 deaths among civilians and security personnel. Overall deaths were at a record six-year high since 2017, a report by the Center for the Research and Security Studies (CRSS) said on Sunday.
While in 2022, violence in the country had surged to56 per cent - an unprecedented escalation in the last 10 years. Militant attacks increased by six per cent. "Moreover, the country saw a surge in violence for the third consecutive year with an uptick recorded each year beginning from 2021," the report added.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan primary centres of violence
The CRSS report said that the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were primary centres of violence, accounting for more than 90 per cent of all deaths and 84 per cent of attacks. "Punjab and Sindh were relatively peaceful as together, both these provinces suffered only 8pc of all fatalities in 2023," the report said.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded the highest number of militant attacks and resultant deaths last year. Citing data from PICSS, the Dawn reported that there were 419 militant attacks in the province in which 620 people were killed and 977 others were injured.
Balochistan, meanwhile, faced at least 170 militant attacks in which 285 people were killed and 388were injured.
"65% of all violence-related fatalities recorded in 2023 resulted from terrorism, while the remaining 35% from the security forces operations against the outlaws," the report further said.
Who is behind the attacks?
According to the CRSS report,Pakistan reported 586 terror attacks this year, with only 17% of them claimed by the banned terror outfits such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Daish (Islamic State Khorasan) and others. Security forces carried out 197 operations against outlaws leaving 537-545 of them dead.
"The number of terrorist and insurgent attacks surpassed security operations against outlaws by almost three times, resulting in a higher number of casualties among both civilians and security personnel compared to the casualties among outlaws. In addition to three major types of violence – security operations, terror attacks, and insurgency – two other manifestations of violence stemming from political turmoil in the country have also contributed to casualties," the report said.
The agency pointed out that one of the major causes of the escalation of fatalities of civilians and security personnel was suicide bombers. "There were 853 casualties from 31 suicide attacks (287 lost their lives while 566 were wounded)," it said.
(With inputs from agencies)