The second quarter of 2019 shows a plateauing situation for Pakistan, with 229 fatalities, as opposed to the first quarter’s 228. The injuries, however did increase by almost 49%, from 185 in Q1 to 275 in Q2. Balochistan had the highest number of fatalities while Balochistan and FATA exhibited a rise in violence. KP, Sindh, and Punjab all showed a decline in violence-related fatalities. The federal territory of Islamabad showed a sharp increase.

North Waziristan Agency had the highest number of fatalities district-wise in the second quarter. The number of suicide attacks went up from two to three in Q2 but the number of fatalities from these attacks nearly quadrupled. Fatalities from clashes with the security forces, IED explosions, armed attacks, and bomb explosions also increased in Q2. Target killings declined by about 50%, both in incidents and fatalities.

For the first time in many years, security personnel fatalities accounted for 29% of the total in Q2, a 10% increase over Q1. The fatalities of militants and civilians recorded a decline in this quarter.

A large number of militant and insurgent groups staged a comeback during this quarter, with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claiming the most number of attacks.

Sectarian violence declined in Q1 (6 fatalities), but seems to have reemerged in Q2 (40 fatalities). Balochistan reported the highest number of sectarian casualties with 26 fatalities and 75 injuries. Two of the three suicide attacks in Q2 were sectarian in nature, and were claimed by TTP, Daish, and Harakat-ul-Ansar (HuA).

Readers can approach CRSS for information related to this report. Alternately, you may send your queries to mail@crss.pk, directly to Mohammad Nafees, Senior Research Fellow, CRSS – the author of the report (mohammad.nafees@yahoo.com), or Zeeshan Salahuddin, Senior Research Fellow, the editor.

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