There was upsurge in violence during the current week, as compared to the past week. The salient feature was a spree of sectarian attacks in the largest metropolis of Pakistan, Karachi, Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan. The data collected through different sources suggest that 158 people lost their lives in 42 incidents of violence across the country, and once again it was the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and tribal regions, which witnessed majority of violence during the course of the week (for details see data sheet). The violent clashes also left 107 people injured across the country. While, five sectarian attacks this week, resulted in the killing of 23 persons dead and 54 injured.

Unlike the previous four weeks, it was the civilians who endured the worst ofthe ongoing spate of violence in the country, in this reporting week, 77 civilians were killed and 83 were left injured in various incidents of violence across the country. The second highest number of casualties was of militants as 76 militants were killed and seven others were injured in different clashes during the course of week. Meanwhile, a CIA operated drone strike in South Waziristan Agency (FATA) killed four suspected militants. Furthermore, the sabotage campaign by the militants continued unabated this week as well, as a gas pipeline, an electricity tower and two more government schools were blown up in Balochistan and KP provinces.

Target killings proved to be the most lethal weapon to project violence, as 76 percent of the total civilian causalities occurred due to target killings across the country. Figures in the above chart depict that almost two fifth (2/5) of the total killings were recorded in the financial and commercial hub of Pakistan, Karachi. The persistent clashes between militants and security forces, especially in KP and FATA region were responsible for almost one half of the total deaths, as 77 persons, mostly the militants, were killed and 18 were wounded in different military vs. militants– clashes.

A closer look into the bar chart shows that target killing was the major tool of violence. During 24 incidents of the target killings, 59 civilians and one security personnel perished, and the most of target killings were reported in Karachi. Bomb blasts remained the second major tactic, as seven different bomb blasts were reported during the week, killing 10 people, mostly in militancy infested KP and FATA regions. Eleven dead bodies, all of them civilians, were also recovered in different areas of KP and FATA.

In sum, although, the number of violent incidents declined slightly ´ 42 against last week 45 during the current week, the number of deaths spiked quiet significantly from last week 135 to 158 this week. Moreover, 457 people were perished and 233 wounded in the past three weeks across Pakistan. Most of the dead were militants and civilians, and the ongoing military operations in KP and FATA were the major cause of these deaths.

Sources

1. The News
2. Dawn
3. The Express Tribune
4. Pakistan Today
5. Daily Times
6. Dateline Islamabad
7. The Frontier Post
8. Jang (Urdu)
9. Daily Mashriq (Urdu)
10. Aaj (Urdu)