Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: In the second quarter of 2018, Pakistan witnessed a 51 percent decrease in violence-related fatalities when compared against the average number of 511.5 fatalities per quarter in 2017.

Every province or region showed an improving situation, except Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), where fatalities increased by 48 percent. Thirty people were the victims of sectarian violence during this quarter, including 17 fatalities and 13 injuries. These findings were shared in the attached Quarterly Security Report by the Centre for Research & Security Studies.

A total of 250 people lost their lives and 271 suffered injuries from various forms of violence that were recorded during the second quarter of 2018. Among all regions of the country, Balochistan suffered the highest number of casualties followed by FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Punjab.

At the district level, the situation is not as straightforward. While provincial capitals like Quetta and Peshawar reflected no major change in violence, Lahore and Karachi recorded a significant drop. A total of 47 districts reported fatalities from violence in Q1 2018, which dropped to 45 in Q2 2018. Karachi and Quetta remained the most violent district in the country, followed by North Waziristan and South Waziristan.

The number of militant fatalities dropped to 77 in Q2 2018 from 89 in Q1 2018. In contrast, security official’s fatalities dropped to 61 in Q2 2018 from 74 in Q1 2018. Civilian fatalities also declined from 120 in Q1 2018 to 112 in Q2 2018.

The militant groups that claimed responsibility for terror attacks in the country during this quarter were Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, accounting for eight fatalities, followed by TTP-Jamaatul Ahrar, Daish and Balochistan Liberation Army.

Published in Daily Times, July 10^th 2018.