In April 2023, there was a slight increase in the number of terror incidents in Pakistan: PICSS
There were 48 militant attacks, resulting in 68 deaths & 55 injuries
ISLAMABAD ( Web News )
In April 2023, there was a slight increase in the number of terror incidents in Pakistan, according to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) database. There were 48 militant attacks, resulting in 68 deaths and 55 injuries.
The previous month, March 2023, saw 39 militant attacks resulting in 58 deaths and 73 injuries. There was a 23 percent increase in militant attacks, a 17 percent increase in deaths, and a 25 percent decrease in the number of injured people. The security forces’ human losses also saw a 35 percent increase during April 2023, as reported by PICSS.
The Pakistani security forces have responded by increasing their operations against militant groups. During April 2023, they killed at least 41 militants and arrested 40 others. The security forces focused their efforts mainly on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where they killed 30 militants and arrested 14 others.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained the most affected province, with 49 percent of the total attacks reported during the month. In KP, the militants carried out 33 attacks resulting in 45 deaths, including 23 security forces personnel, 17 militants, and five civilians. Thirty-two people were injured, including 17 security forces personnel and ten civilians. Within KP, 19 militant attacks were reported from the mainland province, while 14 were reported from tribal districts of KP (former FATA). The tribal districts saw a 100 percent rise in militant attacks. In March, PICSS recorded seven attacks, while in April, the number increased to 14.
Balochistan witnessed 13 attacks resulting in 21 deaths, including 11 security forces personnel and nine civilians. Twenty-three people were injured, including 21 civilians and two security forces personnel.
Punjab and Sindh witnessed only one attack each during April 2023.
According to the Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the security forces conducted approximately 70 intelligence-based operations daily. During the first four months of the year, they arrested around 1400 suspected militants and killed more than 188.