Violence subsided considerably across Pakistan during the current week. Meanwhile, clashes between militants and security forces in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and bomb blasts across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) continued to pile misery on the people. The data collected (throughten newspapers that CRSS uses as the source) suggests that as many as 90 persons fell prey to the 54 incidents of violence across the country during the reported week (for detailssee data sheet).These violent incidents also left 65 people injured, while number of wounded decreased considerably from last week 74 to 65 this week.

Unlike the previous week, where militants bore the major burnt, civilians paid the maximum price of the ongoing spate of violence in the country, as 60 percent of the total casualties were of the civilians during the current week. Numerically, 55 civilians were killed and 55 others were wounded under different circumstances, across the country. The second highest number of casualties was of militants wherein 29 militants were killed and another four were injured, mostly as a result of military vs. militants– clashes in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and FATA. Furthermore, like the preceding week, one CIA operated drone strikewas reported this week killing seven suspected militants in Khushali village on Mir Ali- Khaisur road, North Waziristan Agency (FATA). Militants also blew up four government schools in KP and FATA regions.

Like the previous week, only one sectarian attack was reported during the week, wherein a Hazara minority Shia was shot dead in Kwari road area of Quetta city (Balochistan). Moreover, fatalities due to the ferocious wave of target killings swelled by 15 percent, during the current week. Overall 53 percent of the total violent attacks wereof target killing in nature. The trend suggests that the target killing insistently remains the weapon of choice in the hands of miscreants to inflict violence against the helpless civilians (seethe pie chart below).

Furthermore, data shows that of the total 26 incidents of target killings; a staggering 65 percent took place in Karachi alone, killing 18 people and injuring two others. Militant causalities due to the ongoing military operation in KP and FATA region plunged sharply by 61 percent as only 29 militants got killed this week against last week 73. Overall militant casualties were just 32 percent of the total death toll. Meanwhile, 7 security personnel lost their lives and six others got injured as a result of clashes with the militants during the week.

Moreover during the current week, 12dead bodieswere recovered from different parts of the country, five from Karachi, one from Balochistan and six from KP and FATA region. In sum, the number of violent incidents declined slightly from last week 55 to 49 this week, the resultant fatalities, however dropped significantly from 144 to just 90, while the number of wounded decreased from 74 to 65 this week. A concise look into the data and violent trends underlines that security situation continues to paint grim picture. Militants– take on security forces and state infrastructure has emerged as the most consistent feature during recent months.

Sources

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