Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The third quarter (Q3)of 2018 was volatile for Pakistan due to a wide array of factors.

After continuous nose diving militancy and attacks, and despite an unprecedented deployment of security forces during election campaign; militants targeted several political parties and candidates that they were in disagreement with.

Surprisingly, the upsurge in militancy in Pakistan just remained confined to Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) regions reflecting its links to the Afghan-based militants.

Looking at the figures, the casualties of violence in Q3, 2018 took a turn for the worse at 964 (397 dead, 567 wounded) up from 521 in the previous quarter. More than 50% of these casualties were recorded in Balochistan alone, followed by KP, Sindh, tribal districts of KP (former FATA), and Punjab.

Among all victims of violence in the third quarter, the civilian fatalities were the highest, which went up to 67% of the total fatalities during this quarter up from 45% in Q2, 2018. Fatalities of security personnel were at 15% against the 24% recorded in the last quarter. Fatalities of militants and criminals went down to 19% this quarter from 31% in Q2, 2018.

It is pertinent to note that while GB, Balochistan and KP regions witnessed a significant rise in violence, all other regions of the country recorded a considerable decline in violence, especially Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

Analyzing the situation at the district level, the highest loss of human lives to terrorism was recorded in Mastung district of Balochistan, followed by four other districts of the same province i.e. Awaran, Kalat, Kech and Dera Bugti that showed an upward trend in violence.

On the contrary, a startling rise in suicide attacks during the months of July and August contributed to the ballooning casualties this quarter. A large number of these victims were leaders or activists of political parties. Within two weeks, from July 11-25, 2018, seven suicide attacks targeted different locations in Balochistan, KP, and Punjab leaving 210 dead and 328 wounded. However, a sharp decline in sectarian violence observed during this quarter is a positive sign, yet the issue remains to be tackled comprehensively.

Published in Daily Times, October 18^th 2018.