ISLAMABAD - The country witnessed 24 per cent increase in militant attacks in the last month of April as compared to March 2022 but alternatively the deaths and injuries decreased by 53 per cent for the same period of time.
A decline in terror attacks is anticipated during May in the wake of banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s unilateral ceasefire starting on the eve of Eidul Fitr. According to the statistics released by an Islamabad-based independent think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), the militants carried out as many 34 attacks countrywide during April, which killed 55 people including 34 security forces personnel, 13 civilians and eight militants.
In these attacks, as many as 25 people got injured including 11 security forces personnel and 14 civilians.
The militants had carried out 26 attacks across the country in the month of March 2022, in which 115 people were killed and 288 had got injured.
In April 2022, most of the attacks took place in erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) followed by main Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan.
The think tank has recorded 16 militant attacks in erstwhile FATA (now tribal districts of KP) in which 31 people were killed, including 21 security forces personnel, seven militants, and three civilians. In these attacks, as many 10 people were injured, including six security forces personnel and four civilians.
In KP, militants carried out 10 attacks killing 17 people, including 12 security forces personnel and five civilians, while six people got injured, of which three each were civilians and security forces personnel.
In Balochistan, four militant attacks were witnessed in which one each security forces personnel and civilian was killed while five people were injured, including one security forces personnel and four civilians.
In Sindh, four militant attacks took place killing four civilians and one militant while four people got injured among which three were civilians and one was security forces personnel. The suicide bombing against Chinese teachers’ van at the University of Karachi was one of the deadliest militant attacks happened in the province during the month. In Punjab, no militant attack took place during April.
Meanwhile, Pakistani security forces carried out 22 actions against the militants in which 11 suspected militants were arrested and 27 militants were killed. Most of the arrests took place in the province of Punjab.