ISLAMABAD: There were 59 terrorist incidents nationwide in August 2024, up from 38 the previous month, indicating that the nation is still seeing an increase in terrorist assaults.
84 people were killed and 166 more were injured in these occurrences, which comprised 29 attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 28 in Balochistan, and 2 in Punjab, according to a digital database of security incidents maintained by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), a research tank with headquarters in Islamabad.
In August 2024, there were 28 terrorist events in Balochistan, resulting in 57 fatalities and 84 injuries. The BLA’s outlawed coordinated operations on August 26 in more than seven districts of the province, which targeted security forces, non-Baloch people (mostly Punjabis), and national infrastructure, were mostly to blame for the majority of these terrorism-related deaths in the province.
There were 29 terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which resulted in 25 fatalities and 80 injuries. These attacks were purportedly carried out by the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, Lashkar-i-Islam, Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), and a few local Taliban factions.
29 incidents occurred in KP, 28 in Balochistan, and 2 in Punjab, resulting in the deaths of 84 persons and 166 injuries.
Two bystanders were injured in two separate attacks from Punjab, while two assailants were also slain. Compared to 11 anti-militant operations in July, security forces and police counterterrorism departments (CTDs) carried out 12 such operations in August.
During these operations, fifteen army personnel, three police officers, and eighty-eight insurgents were killed. Of the 12 operations that were reported, 8 occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 4 in Balochistan.
The banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) was responsible for 26 of the 28 incidents that were reported in Balochistan in August of this year. This includes the group’s massive terrorist strike on August 26.
PIPS in its monthly security report said that the armed group has escalated its destructive activities, executing high-impact attacks and using female suicide bombers.
On August 26, the anniversary of Baloch chieftain Nawab Akbar Bugti’s death, the group launched coordinated attacks across Balochistan.
The report underlines that the involvement of numerous militants and the use of sophisticated weaponry including vehicle-borne explosives, indicate the BLA’s growing capabilities.
One of the prohibited entity’s apparent goals is to further sour relations between the province and the federal government, hence the group has taken to using new measures, such verifying identity cards of Punjabis on highways.
The BLA takes advantage of issues such as resource exploitation and forced disappearances by posing as a protector of Baloch interests.
The group might become more popular if the Baloch people begin to lose faith in the governmental system.
The report stated that in order to combat this, the government needs to provide social and political spaces for the Baloch people.
Furthermore, it is imperative to look into the BLA’s finance, armament, and training sources. The research recommended that Pakistan should actively collaborate with Afghanistan and Iran to create a coordinated plan for border security and counterterrorism.
