Fatalities relating to terrorist attacks in Pakistan have declined significantly over the years and according to a South Asia Terrorism Portal’s (SATP) report, the number of deaths has decreased by 30 percent in 2017 as compared to 2016.
Their report includes all fatalities that resulted from terrorist attacks in Pakistan until April 15th, 2018. If we look at the table, number of fatalities are at their peak in 2009 and have decreased by over 89% by 2017.
The monthly details for the 155 deaths this year are,
- 18 civilian, 17 security force personnel, and 22 terrorists/insurgents in January,
- 6 civilians, 23 security force personnel, and 13 terrorists/insurgents in February,
- 17 civilians, 10 security force personnel, and 16 terrorists/insurgents in March,
- and 7 civilians, 3 security force personnel, and 3 terrorists/insurgents in April.
So in total, 48 civilian, 53 security force personnel, and 54 terrorists have died this year – do note that the data ends on 15th April. The compilers of this data have also left a note below the table which states,
A large number of target killings, which many believe are carried out by the terrorists, backed by warring political parties, in Sindh were inadvertently left. Now that fatalities in such incidents have been included for the years 2011 and 2012, the data has been changed accordingly.
Interestingly, SATP’s website, which has all the reports and data sheets, is inaccessible from within Pakistan. You will need to access it using a proxy or a VPN service
Violence, Abuse, & Religious Intolerance
SATP’s report also concludes that terrorist attacks and non-state military operations have caused human rights problems in many areas, especially tribal lands of FATA, Balochistan, and KPK in Pakistan.
The military sustained significant campaigns against militant and terrorist groups. Nevertheless, violence, abuse, and social and religious intolerance by militant organisations and other non-state actors, both local and foreign, contributed to a culture of lawlessness in some parts of the country.
The report highlighted target killings, torture, mob violence, disappearances, and limited accountability as the most significant adverse human rights problems. Moreover, disappearances and kidnappings also significantly contribute to the crime rate.
