First Quarter 2015 – Introduction
In the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), a National Action Plan (NAP) was devised by the government. The NAP was later approved and passed by the parliament as the 21st Constitutional Amendment. As part of the NAP, provincial Apex Committees (ACs) were formed which included civil and military experts, to streamline a united anti-terrorism front against all forms of terrorism and violence.
Under the guidelines of the ACs , a new trend emerged, where the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs), both the Rangers and the Police, decided to release the names to both electronic and print media of organizations involved in terrorism and violence, irrespective of their political, religious, or religio-political affiliations. What once appeared to be the acts of unknown terrorists or target killers, suddenly got recognition of their perpetrators and the names of the Tehreek-e-Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Islami, and political parties such as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) started appearing along with the reports.
Another significant development took place after the Rangers’ operation at the headquarters of the MQM in Karachi on March 11, 2015, resulting in the apprehension of more several dozen unlawful individuals, including convicted absconders, mostly the MQM second and third tier leaders, activists and workers. They were arrested and produced before the Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs), and were sent on judicial remands either to the Rangers, or the Police. The improvement in the national security brought about by the NAP will be reviewed in this report in detail.
Errors and omissions, a possibility in all statistical works, can occur. However, such mistakes do not grossly affect the basic objective of this report.
NOTE: All data is from January – March, 2015.
Report prepared by:
Mohammad Nafees
Senior Research Fellow
Center for Research and Security Studies
NOTE: Readers can approach CRSS for source of any information included in the report. Please send your requests/comments/questions to: mail@crss.pk.
List of Acronyms
| # | Acronyms (in alphabetical order) | |
| 1 | AC | Apex Committee |
| 2 | ACT | Anti-Terrorism Courts |
| 3 | ANP | Awami National Party |
| 4 | BLF | Balochistan Liberation Front |
| 4 | BRA | Balochistan Republican Army |
| 5 | FATA | Federally Administered Tribal Areas |
| 6 | FC | Frontier Corps |
| 7 | GB | Gilgit Baltistan |
| 8 | IDP | Internally Displaced Person |
| 9 | JSQM | Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz |
| 10 | KP | Khyber Pukhtunkwa |
| 11 | LEA | Law Enforcement Agencies |
| 12 | LeJ | Lashkar-e-Jhangvi |
| 13 | LI | Lashkar-e-Islami |
| 14 | MQM | Muttahida Qaumi Movement |
| 15 | NAP | National Action Plan |
| 16 | PMLF | Pakistan Muslim League – Functional Group |
| 17 | PMLN | Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz Group |
| 18 | PPP | Pakistan People’s Party |
| 19 | PTI | Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf |
| 20 | TTP | Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan |
Security Report
Fatalities from Violence
The fatalities from violence in Pakistan during the first quarter of 2015 were 18% lower than the fatalities recorded last year during the same period, 1501 and 1236 respectively, and 25% lower than the 2013 figure. However, an upsurge in the number of fatalities was noticeable in the month of March this year when the figure went up from 316 to 545 (table 01). One of the main reasons for this rise is the number of fatalities was massive crackdown by the LEAs security operations in various parts of the country that went up from 47% to 72% of the total fatalities in the month of March (table 02).
| Table 01: Fatalities from violence – January-March 2015 | |||
| Month | Killed | Injured | Total Casualties |
| January, 2015 | 375 | 194 | 569 |
| February, 2015 | 316 | 174 | 490 |
| March, 2015 | 545 | 287 | 832 |
| Total | 1236 | 655 | 1891 |
| Table 02: Fatalities from security operations – January-March 2015 | ||
| Month | Fatality | Percentage of total |
| January, 2015 | 138 | 36.8 |
| February, 2015 | 149 | 47.2 |
| March, 2015 | 394 | 72.3 |
A comparative analysis of the first quarters of the previous three years also reveals a significant change in the number of fatalities from the security operations. In the first quarter of 2015, the fatalities from security operation were three times higher than the figure of first quarter of 2013, two years prior. On the other hand, the fatalities from violence carried out by the militants or criminals like target killings, militant attacks, and terrorism went down by about 50% during this quarter compared with 2014, last year (table03).
| Table 03: Comparative data on fatality sources – first quarters | |||
| Nature of violence | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Security operations | 207 | 396 | 681 |
| Target killings | 552 | 648 | 229 |
| Militant attacks | 311 | 203 | 104 |
| Other terrorism | 296 | 200 | 116 |
| Drone attacks | 63 | 0 | 29 |
| Robberies | 0 | 1 | 23 |
| Cross-border attacks | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Custodial death | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Lynching | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Accidental explosion | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| In-fight – drug dealers | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| In-fight – unknown | 3 | 30 | 2 |
| Militants’ rivalry/infighting | 211 | 8 | 0 |
| Others | 5 | 15 | 9 |
| Total | 1648 | 1501 | 1236 |
Looking at the provinces and other regions, FATA had the highest number of fatalities from violence during this quarter, followed by Sindh, Balochistan, KP, Punjab, Islamabad, and GB. In most of the cases, the number of wounded persons was almost half of the total deceased except in the case of Punjab where wounded were well over the number of fatalities due to a terrorist attack on a church that killed 14 persons and wounded 70 (table 04).
| Table 04: Fatalities from violence in provinces – January-March 2015 | |||
| Region | Dead | Injured | Casualty |
| FATA | 512 | 232 | 744 |
| Sindh | 358 | 145 | 442 |
| Balochistan | 153 | 75 | 227 |
| KP | 121 | 85 | 206 |
| Punjab | 84 | 112 | 196 |
| Islamabad | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| GB | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Total | 1236 | 656 | 1829 |
A major change is recognizable when the violence data for the first quarter of last year is compared with the current year. This quarter, Khyber Agency in FATA had the highest number of fatalities followed by Karachi, Shikarpur, North Waziristan, Peshawar, Lahore and Kurrum Agency. During the same period of last year, Karachi had the highest number of fatalities followed by North Waziristan, Peshawar, Quetta, and Khyber Agency (table 05).
| Table 05: Fatalities by district – January-March | ||
| Districts | 2014 | 2015 |
| Khyber Agency | 102 | 365 |
| Karachi | 547 | 274 |
| Shikarpur | 0 | 63 |
| Norht Waziristan | 203 | 52 |
| Peshawar | 124 | 42 |
| Lahore | 21 | 36 |
| Kurrum Agency | 0 | 34 |
| South Waziristan | 15 | 27 |
| Loralai | 0 | 18 |
| Kharan | 0 | 18 |
| Quetta | 38 | 17 |
| Dera Bugti | 34 | 15 |
| Bajaur | 0 | 13 |
| Faisalabad | 0 | 13 |
| Panjgur | 0 | 12 |
| Mohmand | 23 | 11 |
| D.I. Khan | 26 | 10 |
| Orakzai | 0 | 10 |
| Mansehra | 0 | 10 |
| Rawalpindi | 19 | 10 |
| Khuzdar | 26 | 9 |
| Nowshera | 0 | 9 |
| Islamabad | 15 | 6 |
| Others | 308 | 162 |
| Total | 1501 | 1236 |
A significant decline in all criminal activities can be observed between 1st quarters of 2014 and 2015. The number of fatalities from armed attacks by the militants, bomb explosions, and suicide attacks went down during this quarter as compared with the last year. The counter-terror security operations, on the other hand, increased during this period (table 06).
| Table 06: Comparative data on violence and counter violence – January-March | ||||
| Method of Violence | 2014 | 2015 | ||
| No. of Incidents | Deaths | No. of Incidents | Deaths | |
| Air raid | 10 | 209 | 16 | 240 |
| Militant attacks | 22 | 40 | 7 | 15 |
| Arrests | 124 | 0 | 191 | 0 |
| Lynching | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Bomb defused | 26 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| Bomb explosions | 133 | 111 | 58 | 102 |
| Cardiac arrest | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Clash | 8 | 8 | 16 | 148 |
| Dead body found | 101 | 177 | 39 | 48 |
| Demolition | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Custodial deaths | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Encounter with LEAs | 85 | 182 | 146 | 260 |
| Firing incident | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| Ground operation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Gun and rocket | 0 | 19 | 0 | 3 |
| Gun battle | 0 | 8 | 0 | 15 |
| Gunned down | 377 | 471 | 170 | 192 |
| Air operation (gunships) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Hand grenade | 24 | 39 | 5 | 0 |
| IED explosion | 30 | 32 | 6 | 8 |
| In-fighting – gangsters | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Intrusion of secure space | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Landmines | 10 | 6 | 10 | 8 |
| Drone attack | 0 | 3 | 5 | 29 |
| Mortar | 11 | 16 | 5 | 5 |
| Remanded | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0 |
| Rocket fires | 19 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Shot at (person survived) | 16 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Seizure of explosives | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Suicide | 15 | 96 | 9 | 54 |
| Toy bomb explosion | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Others | 0 | 62 | 82 | 24 |
| Total | 1501 | 1236 | ||
Victims of Violence in Pakistan
Nearly 50% of the victims of violence in the country during this quarter of the year were militants, followed by civilians, criminals, security officials and others (table 07).
| Table 07: Identities of victims of violence – January-March 2015 | ||
| Victims | Fatalities | Percentage |
| Militant | 577 | 46.7 |
| Civilian | 281 | 22.7 |
| Criminal | 155 | 12.5 |
| Security official | 134 | 10.8 |
| Religious place (church etc.) | 32 | 2.6 |
| Politician | 21 | 1.7 |
| Religious party | 12 | 1.0 |
| Insurgent | 9 | 0.7 |
| Government official | 7 | 0.6 |
| Religious person | 5 | 0.4 |
| Foreigner | 3 | 0.2 |
| Total | 1236 | 100 |
Fatalities within militants, by group are below (table 08).
| Table 08: Militant fatalities by affiliation– January-March 2015 | |
| Group | Fatalities |
| Lashkar-e-Islami (LI) | 156 |
| TTP/LI | 121 |
| Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) | 18 |
| Unknown militants | 23 |
| Afghan militants | 15 |
| Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) | 15 |
| TTP/Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction | 11 |
| TTP – Punjab/Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction | 9 |
| Al-Qaida | 7 |
| Other (statistically small fractions) | 202 |
| Total | 577 |
The province and region wise comparative changes that took place after the escalation of security operations based on the NAP will be reviewed in the following provincial breakdowns.
Casualties of Violence in Balochistan
The province of Balochistan lost 153 persons to the ongoing violence during this quarter. Compared to last year’s figure of fatalities (196 dead) for the same period, the province has witnessed a decrease of 20% in the number of fatalities during this year. However, the monthly trend of violence shows an upward mode in the number of fatalities from violence in the province (tables 09 and 10).
| Table 09: Fatalities from violence in Balochistan – January-March 2015 | |||
| Month | Fatalities | Injured | Total Casualties |
| January, 2015 | 52 | 14 | 66 |
| February, 2015 | 42 | 48 | 90 |
| March, 2015 | 59 | 13 | 72 |
| Total | 153 | 75 | 228 |
At the district level, Kharan and Loralaia suffered more casualties than any other district of the province during this period (table 10). Out of the 18 victims of violence, 14 were security personnel, further broken into 7 Frontier Corps (FC) persons and 7 policemen) indicative of an upsurge of lawlessness in the area. Last year, there was only one incident of violence in this district. However, the overall security situation of the province does not reflect a similar trend. Over 45% of total victims of violence were militants, insurgents, and criminals while the remaining were security personnel and civilians (table 11).
| Table 10: Fatalities in Balochistan by district – January-March 2015 | |
| District | Fatalities |
| Kharan | 18 |
| Loralai | 18 |
| Quetta | 17 |
| Dera Bugti | 15 |
| Panjgur | 12 |
| Khuzdar | 9 |
| Mastung | 7 |
| Awaran | 6 |
| Turbat | 6 |
| Zhob | 6 |
| Kalat | 5 |
| Gwadar | 5 |
| Nasirabad | 4 |
| Nushki | 4 |
| Swat | 3 |
| Chagai | 2 |
| Killa Abdullah | 2 |
| Kohlu | 2 |
| Lasbella | 2 |
| Pasni | 2 |
| Barkhan | 1 |
| Chaman | 1 |
| Jaffarabad | 1 |
| Killa Saifullah | 1 |
| Pishin | 1 |
| Sibi | 1 |
| Ziarat | 1 |
| Others | 1 |
| Total | 153 |
| Table 11: Fatalities in Balochistan by victims – January-March 2015 | |
| District | Fatalities |
| Militants | 61 |
| Security official | 39 |
| Civilians | 38 |
| Insurgents | 9 |
| Criminals | 4 |
| Political activist | 1 |
| Others | 1 |
| Total | 153 |
The affiliation with non state outfits of some of the victims reflects the heightened activities of the insurgents as 30% of the known victims belonged to Balochistan Republican Army (BRA), Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), and other suspected insurgents who lost their lives during security operations. The militants, sectarian outfits, and suicide bombers were 20% of them. Among the security personnel, 9 belonged to the FC, 8 were policemen, and 6 were levies.
Casualties of Violence in FATA
The FATA region lost 512 persons in violent-related incidents during the first quarter of 2015 (table 12). It was an almost 40% rise in number of fatalities from violence as compared to the same period of last year.
| Table 12: Fatalities from violence in FATA – January-March 2015 | |||
| Month | Fatalities | Injured | Total Casualties |
| January, 2015 | 121 | 51 | 172 |
| February, 2015 | 92 | 38 | 130 |
| March, 2015 | 299 | 143 | 442 |
| Total | 512 | 232 | 744 |
Among all tribal agencies of the region, Khyber Agency had the highest number of fatalities from violence during this period, despite the fact that the security agencies had claimed to have cleared this area from the militants and the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were advised to return to their homes (table 13).
| Table 13: Fatalities in FATA by agency – January-March 2015 | |
| Agency | Fatalities |
| Khyber | 365 |
| North Waziristan | 52 |
| Kurram | 34 |
| South Waziristan | 27 |
| Bajaur | 13 |
| Mohmand | 11 |
| Orakzai | 10 |
| Total | 512 |
Majority of victims were militants 90% and the remaining 10% were from security agencies and the civilian population. Pakistan Air Force carried out 16 air raids and several sorties of gunship helicopters against the militants’ hideouts in the region. Despite such an extensive military operation, the incidents of militancy continued in the area. Nearly two dozen bomb detonated in FATA leaving 32 persons dead and 54 wounded. Rockets, landmines, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), mortars, and armed attacks were also reported from the region during this period. The majority of the victims of violence in FATA were affiliated with various banned outfits (table 14).
| Table 14: Militant fatalities in FATA by affiliation – January-March 2015 | |
| Group | Fatalities |
| Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) | 159 |
| Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)/LI | 121 |
| Afghan Militants | 15 |
| TTP/Hafiz Gul Bahadur group | 9 |
| TTP – Punjab/Hafiz Gul Bahadur group | 7 |
| Militants (unknown affiliation) | 7 |
| TTP | 3 |
| Total | 321 |
Casualties of Violence in KP
The province of KP had 206 casualties of violence (121 dead and 85 injured) during the first quarter of 2015, which is almost 60% lower than what was reported last year (289 dead and 294 injured) during the same period (table 15).
| Table 15: Fatalities from violence in KP – January-March 2015 | |||
| Month | Fatalities | Injured | Total Casualties |
| January, 2015 | 21 | 4 | 25 |
| February, 2015 | 70 | 70 | 140 |
| March, 2015 | 30 | 11 | 41 |
| Total | 121 | 85 | 206 |
More than 60% of the victims of violence were civilians, roughly 20% were security and government officials while the remaining were militants and criminals. Based on the percentage of victims of violence, the security situation in KP does not appear to be very satisfactory. The capital city of the province, Peshawar, is highly affected by violence as compared to other main cities and districts (table 16).
| Table 16: Fatalities in KP by district – January-March 2015 | |
| District | Fatalities |
| Peshawar | 42 |
| Dera Ismail Khan | 10 |
| Mansehra | 10 |
| Nowshera | 9 |
| Bannu | 8 |
| Swat | 6 |
| Hangu | 6 |
| Kohat | 6 |
| Swabi | 5 |
| Charsadda | 4 |
| Batkhela (Malakand) | 4 |
| Lakki Marwat | 3 |
| Tank | 3 |
| Karak | 2 |
| Mardan | 2 |
| Haripur | 1 |
| Total | 121 |
Target killing, security operations, and militant attacks were the most common forms of violence used in the province. The following outlawed organizations claimed responsibility for the acts of violence that took place during this period.
| Table 17: Fatalities in KP claimed by banned outfit – January-March 2015 | |
| Banned outfit | Fatalities |
| Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTTP) – Jundullah group | 21 |
| TTP | 5 |
| Zamani group | 1 |
| Militants (unknown affiliations) | 1 |
| Total | 28 |
A large majority of the victims (24) were Shia.
Casualties of Violence in Punjab
Nearly 50% increase in the casualties of violence was observed in the province of Punjab during Jan-Mar 2015 period in comparison to the same period of the last year (Table xxx).
| Table 18: Fatalities from violence in Punjab – January-March 2015 | |||
| Month | Fatalities | Injured | Total Casualties |
| January, 2015 | 22 | 33 | 55 |
| February, 2015 | 21 | 2 | 23 |
| March, 2015 | 41 | 77 | 118 |
| Total | 84 | 112 | 196 |
Most of the commercial cities in Punjab were affected by acts of violence with the capital, Lahore, suffering the highest number of fatalities (table 19). As many as 50% of the victims of violence in Punjab were criminals and militants while the remaining victims were predominantly civilians at around 45% and security personnel at approximately 5%, reflecting an improving security situation.
In total, three suicide attacks took place, one in Rawalpindi at a Shia mosque, and the other two occurred in Lahore, at the Police Lines office building and a church. The latter attack also resulted in an incident of public lynching by a violent Christian mob.
| Table 19: Fatalities in Punjab by district – January-March 2015 | |
| District | Fatalities |
| Lahore | 36 |
| Faisalabad (Jaranwala) | 12 |
| Rawalpindi | 11 |
| Okara (Renala Khurd) | 9 |
| Gujranwala | 3 |
| Sialkot | 3 |
| Daska | 2 |
| Multan | 2 |
| Bahawalnagar | 1 |
| Bahawalpur | 1 |
| Kasur | 1 |
| Wah Cantt | 1 |
| Haripur | 1 |
| Sadiqabad | 1 |
| Khanpur | 1 |
| Toba Tek Singh | 0 |
| Total | 84 |
Casualties of Violence in Sindh
The province of Sindh witnessed a nearly 40% decline in the number of casualties of violence during this quarter of the year (table 20). Karachi district was the highest affected, with nearly 80% of all Sindh fatalities from violence were reported the provincial capital. After Karachi, Shikarpur was the second district of Sindh where a sectarian attack on a Shia mosque in the month of January left 61 persons dead and 50 injured (table 21).
| Table 20: Fatalities from violence in Sindh – January-March 2015 | |||
| Month | Fatalities | Injured | Total Casualties |
| January, 2015 | 159 | 92 | 251 |
| February, 2015 | 85 | 16 | 101 |
| March, 2015 | 114 | 37 | 151 |
| Total | 358 | 145 | 503 |
| Table 21: Fatalities in Sindh by district – January-March 2015 | |
| District | Fatalities |
| Karachi | 281 |
| Shikarpur | 63 |
| Mirpur Khas | 8 |
| Pano Aqil | 4 |
| Khairpur | 1 |
| Jacobabad | 1 |
| Total | 358 |
Among the victims of violence in Sindh, civilians and security personnel were almost 60% of the total fatalities and the militants and criminals made up the rest. The ongoing security operations in the province killed 149 criminals and militants, while 209 fatalities of civilians, security personnel, and government officials occurred. Comparing the different forms of violence during this year with the last, a noticeable decline is visible in most crimes. From 386 fatalities from target killing last year, the figure has come down to 110 this year reflecting a 70% decline. A similar reduction in fatalities from militant attacks is clear (table 22).
| Table 22: Fatalities by victims in Sindh – January-March | ||
| Districts | 2014 | 2015 |
| Target killings | 386 | 110 |
| Security operations | 99 | 155 |
| Militants’ attack | 40 | 6 |
| Infight | 28 | 1 |
| Terrorism | 15 | 68 |
| Robbery | 1 | 12 |
| Lynching | 0 | 5 |
| Custodial death | 0 | 1 |
| Others | 13 | 0 |
| Total | 582 | 358 |
Although the security operations in the province have brought the crime rate down very significantly, in retaliation, militant and criminal organizations targeted the security agencies and civilians as well. The following table which shows the affiliation of those who became victims of violence during the 1st quarters of 2014 and 2015 in Sindh, is a good example to understand the changing nature of violence in the city, and largely in the province.
Not only did the fatalities of militants go up this quarter in Sindh, but a reasonable number of militants belonging to the splinter groups of the TTP also become victims of security operations. On the other hand, a large number of criminal gangs that suffered last year had no fatalities this year, either they went into hiding or the ongoing security operation dealt such a severe blow to their networks that they are restricted and unable to operate now.
| Table 23: Fatalities by banned outfit in Sindh – January-March | ||
| Banned Outfit | 2014 | 2015 |
| TTP | 10 | 10 |
| Al-Qaeda | 0 | 5 |
| TTP- Sindh | 0 | 4 |
| Banned outfit (unknown) | 0 | 3 |
| TTP-Suspect | 0 | 3 |
| TTP-Mohmand | 0 | 3 |
| TTP Swat | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 10 | 30 |
| Table 24: Fatalities by criminals in Sindh – January-March | ||
| Banned Outfit | 2014 | 2015 |
| Gangsters (unknown) | 7 | 14 |
| Baba Ladla Gang | 6 | 10 |
| Uzair Baloch Gang | 6 | 15 |
| Sheraz Comrade Gang | 2 | 9 |
| Ghaffar Zikri Gang | 3 | 3 |
| Kamo Lasi Gang | 0 | 3 |
| Wasiullah Lakho Gang | 4 | 0 |
| Faisal Pathan Gang | 3 | 0 |
| Shakeel Badhshah Gang | 3 | 0 |
| Ghafoor Bugti Gang | 2 | 0 |
| Zaheer Aliyas Zaheera Group | 2 | 0 |
| Lala Orangi | 6 | 0 |
| Infighting | 24 | 0 |
| Total | 68 | 54 |
Similarly, in case of religious parties both the number of affected parties and their fatalities went down significantly this year.
| Table 25: Fatalities by religious community in Sindh – January-March | ||
| Religious Communities | 2014 | 2015 |
| Shia community | 25 | 68 |
| Bohra community | 1 | 3 |
| Ismaili community | 1 | 2 |
| Imambargah Guard | 0 | 3 |
| Sunni community | 6 | 2 |
| Ahmadi community | 0 | 1 |
| Christian community | 1 | 0 |
| Sufi | 8 | 0 |
| Total | 42 | 79 |
In case of political party activists, the fatalities declined, but, like the previous year, all mainstream political parties except the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had at least one fatality this year if not more. This reflects that the political rivalry and sectarian hatred continued playing their respective roles in Sindh.
| Table 26: Fatalities by political party members in Sindh – January-March | ||
| Political Party Members | 2014 | 2015 |
| Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) | 9 | 22 |
| Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) | 1 | 6 |
| Awami National Party (ANP) | 1 | 2 |
| Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz Group (PMLN) | 1 | 0 |
| Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) | 0 | 2 |
| Pakistan Muslim League – Functional Group (PMLF) | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 12 | 34 |
The fatalities of security agency personnel during this quarter were less than the last year, while civilians suffered more than the previous year. Four members of the polio team and three from a private media channel were also fatalities for thisquarter.
Casualties of Sectarian Violence
At the national level, a significant upsurge in sectarian violence was recorded during this quarter as compared to last year, a 30 percent increase. All provinces except Balochistan had a sharp rise in sectarian killing during this year than the previous year. Balochistan and the federal capital, Islamabad, did not experience any sectarian violence during this quarter (table 27).
| Table 27: Fatalities from sectarian violence in Pakistan – January-March | ||||||
| Region | 2014 | 2015 | ||||
| Dead | Injured | Casualties | Dead | Injured | Casualties | |
| Sindh | 64 | 28 | 92 | 88 | 75 | 163 |
| Balochistan | 25 | 65 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| KP | 16 | 59 | 75 | 27 | 50 | 77 |
| Islamabad | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Punjab | 5 | 7 | 12 | 27 | 97 | 124 |
| FATA | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 20 |
| Total | 116 | 162 | 278 | 148 | 236 | 384 |
Among all religious communities, the Shia community had the highest casualties during the first quarter of 2015 followed by the Christian, Hindu, Sunni, Bohra, and the Ismaili communities (table 28).
| Table 28: Fatalities from sectarian violence by religion/sect in Pakistan – January-March | |
| Religion/Sect | Casualties |
| Shia | 230 |
| Christian | 86 |
| Unknown | 30 |
| Hindu | 15 |
| Sunni | 11 |
| Bohra | 10 |
| Ismaili | 2 |
| Total | 384 |
Suicide attacks, IED and bomb explosions were amongst the common modes used to carry out sectarian killings in the country, as well as in some cases the targeted killings on sectarian grounds. The use of such lethal methods for sectarian killings not only killed several people at the spot but also resulted in death of the seven persons who were initially injured in the incidents. Last year, majority of the victims of sectarian violence were gunned down via target killing (table 29)
| Table 29: Methods of sectarian violence in Pakistan – January-March | ||||||
| Region | 2014 | 2015 | ||||
| Dead | Injured | Casualties | Dead | Injured | Casualties | |
| Suicide attack | 24 | 65 | 89 | 43 | 145 | 188 |
| Bomb explosion | 10 | 65 | 75 | 66 | 75 | 141 |
| Gunned down | 72 | 16 | 88 | 27 | 2 | 29 |
| Hand grenade | 8 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| IED explosion | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Succumbed to injury | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Others | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Total | 117 | 164 | 281 | 148 | 236 | 384 |
The banned outfits that claimed the responsibility for sectarian killings in the country during this quarter ate listed below (table 30). These figures total those that were claimed, the actual number of sectarian violence related fatalities, shared above, is obviously much higher.
| Table 30: Claimants of sectarian attacks in Pakistan – January-March | |||
| Claimant Group | Fatalities | Injured | Total |
| Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)-JA | 26 | 95 | 121 |
| TTP-Jundullah | 82 | 100 | 182 |
| TTP-Jundullah/Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 110 | 195 | 305 |
Last year, only LeJ had accepted the responsibility for a suicide attack that was carried out in Mustang, Balochistan against Shia Hazara pilgrims on January 22, 2014, killing 22 and injuring 39 persons. This reporting period the trend has changed and most of the suicide attacks carried out on sectarian grounds were claimed by the splinter groups of TTP. The reason for this is the tightening noose of the security agencies around the neck of banned and extremist outfits, and their need to stay relevant. Since the extremist elements know that the state response for sectarian violence has been lackadaisical at best in the past, they bank on creating headlines by targeting minority religions and sects as a means to stay pertinent.
In addition to killing the people on sectarian ground, the sanctity of holy places was also desecrated because of these sectarian attacks (table 31).
| Table 31: Desecration of holy places in Pakistan – January-March | |||
| Holy Place | # | Location | Details |
| Mosque | 1 | Orakzai Agency, FATA | two rocket fired on a mosque killing the head cleric |
| Church | 1 | Lahore, Punjab | suicide attack on a local church |
| Imambargah | 2 | Peshawar, KP | suicide attack on a local imambargah |
| Lakhi Dar, Shikarpur, Sindh | bomb attack on a local imambargah | ||
Conclusion
A downward trend in fatalities from violence is witnessed in all provinces and regions except in Punjab and FATA during the first quarter of 2014 and 2015. In FATA, the military operation caused escalation in the number of fatalities while the fatalities in Punjab increased due to sectarian violence. One of the most significant events was the raiding of the MQM headquarters in Karachi, which could spell a new shift in the LEA’s fight against militancy in Karachi.
Sectarian violence has escalated in all provinces except Balochistan and the largest group of victims are Shia at nearly 60% and Christians at almost 20%. To carry out sectarian violence, different forms of terrorism like suicide attacks, bomb explosion, and rockets were used. Besides the sectarian hatred, retaliation of the militants against the military operation is supposed to be one of the main reasons for this upsurge in sectarian violence.
The overall law and order situation in the country has significantly improved during this quarter of the year. The fatalities of militants and criminals were almost60% of the total fatalities this first quarter as compared to about 30% during the same period last year. However, at a provincial level, the security situation in KP appeared to be highly unsatisfactory as the fatalities of civilians, security and government officials were well over 80%.
Despite the improved security situation, the occurrences of target killings, militant attacks, and other forms of terrorism still pose a serious threat to the people and security agencies. Civil society and media are also playing their role in building a national discourse against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, which in turn helps build a national consensus or narrative against terrorism. However, a divide still exists on ideological lines which motivates people to take different positions on violence-related actions. This is especially true when this violence is carried out on sectarian and political basis. Besides the use of force the use of intellect and reasoning also need to be applied in handing the threat of violence in the country.