Deaths and injuries linked to militancy have dropped in Pakistan for the third consecutive year, with 21 per cent fewer incidents in 2017 than in the previous year, a security think-tank says. Some 2,057 people were killed and 2,074 wounded for a total of 4,131 casualties over the year, according to a report by the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies read on Wednesday. That continued the trend from 2016, in which 2,613 people lost their lives due to violence and 1,714 were injured. In 2015, 4,647 people were killed and 1,927 injured, the group's figures show. The dramatic improvement in security came after the army launched an operation in June 2014 to wipe out militant bases in the northwestern tribal areas and end a bloody insurgency that has cost thousands of civilian lives since 2004. It has involved a series of military offensives as well as some attempts to block the militants' sources of funding. Those efforts were in the spotlight again when a global terror financing monitor voted last month to put Pakistan on a watchlist. But the remnants of militant groups are still able to carry out periodic bloody attacks. Washington has also increased pressure on Pakistan in recent weeks, freezing military aid amid accusations that Islamabad has refrained from clamping down on militant groups such as the Haqqani network and the Afghan Taliban. The report warned that even with the security improvement new militant groups have appeared in the country. It also said that the militant Islamic State (IS) group had claimed responsibility for attacks that left at least 143 people dead, while a branch of Sunni group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed 99 fatalities.   This article originally appeared in Dawn News , March 07, 2018. Original link.

Deaths and injuries linked to militancy have dropped in Pakistan for the third consecutive year, with 21 per cent fewer incidents in 2017 than in the previous year, a security think-tank says. Some 2,057 people were killed and 2,074 wounded for a total of 4,131 casualties over the year, according to a report by the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies read on Wednesday. That continued the trend from 2016, in which 2,613 people lost their lives due to violence and 1,714 were injured. In 2015, 4,647 people were killed and 1,927 injured, the group's figures show. The dramatic improvement in security came after the army launched an operation in June 2014 to wipe out militant bases in the northwestern tribal areas and end a bloody insurgency that has cost thousands of civilian lives since 2004. It has involved a series of military offensives as well as some attempts to block the militants' sources of funding. Those efforts were in the spotlight again when a global terror financing monitor voted last month to put Pakistan on a watchlist. But the remnants of militant groups are still able to carry out periodic bloody attacks. Washington has also increased pressure on Pakistan in recent weeks, freezing military aid amid accusations that Islamabad has refrained from clamping down on militant groups such as the Haqqani network and the Afghan Taliban. The report warned that even with the security improvement new militant groups have appeared in the country. It also said that the militant Islamic State (IS) group had claimed responsibility for attacks that left at least 143 people dead, while a branch of Sunni group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed 99 fatalities.   This article originally appeared in Dawn News , March 07, 2018. Original link.

Executive Summary: The past year continued the trend of declining violence over the last three years, with many outlaws arrested or convicted. Although the drop in violence-related fatalities was countrywide, the change fluctuates regionally, owing to several factors, including geo-political scenario alterations in the militant strategy. Internationally and domestically, terrorism has witnessed a decline. Daish lost territory in Iraq and Syria, while Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) lost its sanctuaries in the tribal regions of Pakistan. However, territorial loss does not translate to complete elimination, as they continued sporadic attacks throughout the year. Domestically, religious parties in favor of the militants either openly supported the Taliban or provided support in elections for the candidates who were considered to be affiliated with some banned outfits. Blasphemy accusations witnessed a sharp rise in the country involving social activists, media persons, and political party leaders like Imran Khan. A sit-in at Faizabad by a newly formed religious party, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYR) was also in opposition to altering blasphemy laws. The shrinking operational space for militant groups has forced them to change their tactics, thus complicating and testing the security response. Militants also changed their focus to try and inflict damage that would legitimize their presence. Violence along neighboring borders increased significantly. The cross border attacks by the Afghan based militants revealed that a majority of them were Pakistani militants who had crossed borders during the Zarb-e-Azb operation. Additionally, of special consideration is the target killing and battering of media persons in various incidents across the country. To assess and evaluate new challenges and threats being faced by the country, this report makes use of the national print and electronic media sources. Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) scrutinizes the...

An American who helped open secret negotiations with the group calls for them to accept a ceasefire and peace talks with the Afghan government. Your February 14, 2018, open letter to the American people asked us to “evaluate the future of American forces in light of the prevailing realities” in Afghanistan. I can answer only for myself, as an academic and former American diplomat who has been trying to understand Afghanistan’s realities for thirty-five years. Many Afghans claim that any answer should go not to you but to the Pakistani generals and intelligence operatives who shelter your movement. I disagree. I have interacted with you directly and indirectly since January, 1997, when I chaired a meeting at Columbia University with a delegation you sent to New York to ask for Afghanistan’s seat at the United Nations. I have concluded that your opponents underestimate your independence and abilities. But you may also underestimate theirs. On Wednesday, the Afghan government will host a second meeting of the Kabul Conference, an effort to begin peace talks, which will be attended by twenty-three countries. The United Nations announced earlier this month that ten thousand Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in Afghanistan in 2017, two-thirds of them in anti-government attacks. You highlight the civilian casualties inflicted by U.S. air power, the shame of Guantánamo, and the losses suffered by American soldiers and their families. I would cite the thousands of Afghan civilian casualties inflicted by your attacks and suicide bombings. The International Criminal Court opened an investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan last fall. In less than three months, Afghans submitted accounts of 1.17 million atrocities. I prefer to respond here to your appeal for dialogue. Few would disagree with your call “to solve the Afghan issue through peaceful dialogues,” if they thought it were possible. On January 29th, after your organization used a car bomb disguised as an...