WorldSouth Asia
Militant attacks in Pakistan fall 66% in five weeks, but abductions rise in Balochistan
A security think tank counted 21 attacks in the week to 22 October, down from 61 in mid-September. A landmine death in Kurram showed the dangers that remain.
Key points
- Attacks fell from 61 to 21 a week between mid-September and 22 October, PICSS said.
- Abductions rose from 24 to 41, almost all in Balochistan.
- A villager was killed by a landmine in Upper Kurram on Saturday.
Militant attacks in Pakistan have dropped sharply over the past five weeks, a security think tank said on Sunday, though it warned that a surge in kidnappings in Balochistan made it too early to call the situation stable.
The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) counted 21 attacks between 16 and 22 October, against 61 in the week of 18 to 24 September, a fall of 66%. Attacks were also down 38% on the previous week. “Marked reduction has been noticed in terrorist attacks in KP and Balochistan during the past five weeks,” the institute said in its weekly review.
The fall in attacks did not bring a matching fall in deaths. Militant violence killed 22 people in the latest week, against 23 the week before, while injuries fell from 20 to 11. Abductions jumped from 24 to 41, almost all of them in Balochistan, which accounted for 12 of the 21 attacks. “These contrasting indicators make it difficult to declare the security situation stable,” PICSS said.
Security forces killed 33 militants in 10 operations over the week, the institute said.
A landmine in Kurram
On the Afghan border, the danger was underlined on Saturday when Iqbal Hussain, a resident of Bagdi village in Upper Kurram, stepped on a landmine while hunting in the mountains, police said. Villagers carried him to the District Headquarters Hospital in Parachinar, where he died of his wounds.
Haji Zamin Hussain, secretary of the Anjuman Hussainia, said dozens of landmine blasts had occurred in Upper Kurram in recent months, killing, injuring or permanently disabling several people. Officials have not said who laid the mines or whether any clearance effort is under way.
The figures come as Islamabad presses the Taliban government in Kabul to act against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Baloch separatist groups it blames for most of the violence.