Escalating terror

There has been no let-up in the cases of terror attacks in Pakistan since the beginning of the year. Pakistan's turbulent northwest, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed a surge in attacks over the past year following the breakdown of talks between armed fighters and the government. In a recent terror incident, a suicide attack on a security convoy in northwest Pakistan on August 31 resulted in the deaths of at least nine soldiers and injuries to five others. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Bannu district; however, there are apprehensions that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) may be behind this dastardly attack wherein a motorcycle-borne suicide bomber detonated himself near Afghanistan, as indicated by a military press release.

Another suicide bombing occurred at a political gathering in the northwest last month, claiming the lives of over 60 people. In January, a suicide bomber linked to the TTP detonated himself in a mosque within a police compound in the northwestern city of Peshawar, resulting in the deaths of more than 80 officers.

In order to get an idea of the major terror incidents this year (2023), the following facts and figures may act as a ready reckoner for the readers to know about the extent of terror happenings in Pakistan:

• January 3: Two intelligence officers, including the director of the provincial Counterterrorism Department, were shot dead outside a restaurant in Khanewal, Punjab.

• January 13: Sarband police station was attacked in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

• January 15: Three officers were shot dead at the post in Zardad Dahri, in Charsadda District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

• January 18: Four soldiers were killed in a cross-border attack from the Iranian border in Panjgur District, Balochistan.

• January 19: Three police officers were killed in a suicide bombing at a police outpost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

• January 30: Peshawar Mosque bombing killed hundreds of people.

• February 10: Two soldiers were killed in an IED attack in Balochistan.

• February 17: Karachi police station was attacked.

• February 27: One child was killed and two children were injured in a bomb blast in South Waziristan.

• March 6: A suicide bombing in Bolan, Balochistan, killed eight policemen, one civilian and left several injured.

• March 15: Two people were killed and seven injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast in Khuzdar.

• March 21: ISI brigadier and three soldiers were killed in South Waziristan shootout.

• March 31: A CTD official and a cleric were killed during a raid.

• April 1: Four Pakistani soldiers were killed in the Kech District attack.

• April 3: Two police officials were killed in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

• April 4: Four FC personnel were killed in two separate attacks by Pakistani Taliban forces in South Waziristan.

• April 7: One assistant police inspector was killed and two were injured in a Swabi grenade attack.

• April 8: In the Khyber blast, two soldiers were killed.

• April 9: One Pakistani soldier was killed.

• April 10: One person was killed and one was injured in Bajaur.

• April 10: In the Kandahari Bazar bombing, four people, including two police officers, were killed, and 15 were injured by a motorcycle bomb in Balochistan insurgency.

• April 11: Four police officers were killed in Quetta.

• April 14: Three children were killed in a blast in Chaman Balochistan.

• April 27: A Counterterrorism Department officer was killed in a blast in Khuzdar, Balochistan.

• April 28: Three soldiers of Pakistan Army were killed in three different attacks in Lakki Marwat.

• May 18: One was killed and three injured in a blast in Peshawar.

• June 3: Two people were killed in a remote-controlled bomb blast in Momand, Bajaur District.

• June 5: Two soldiers were killed in a shootout in the North Waziristan.

• June 20: Two soldiers were killed in a bomb blast in North Waziristan.

• June 24: One killed and five injured in a suicide bombing in Turbat, Balochistan.

• June 24: One killed by unidentified motorcyclists in Peshawar.

• July 2: Four Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel were killed and one was injured in an attack on a check post in the Dhana Sar area of Balochistan’s Sherani subdistrict.

• July 3: Two Pakistan Army officers were killed and one injured in an attack in Balor, Balochistan.

• July 5: Three soldiers were killed and three civilians were injured in a suicide blast in Miran Shah, North Waziristan.

• July 6: At least four soldiers were killed in two separate attacks in Khyber District and North Waziristan District.

• July 12: At least four soldiers were killed and another five soldiers were injured in an attack on Pakistan Army military base in Zhob Balochistan.

• July 20: Two policemen were killed and two were injured in an attack on a check post in Regi Model Town, Peshawar.

• July 20: Bara explosion — three police officers and one civilian were killed by a suicide bombing in a compound office in Bara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

• July 24: Three people were killed by unknown motorcyclists in Barang, Bajaur.

• July 25: One police officer was killed in a suicide bombing at Ali Masjid in Khyber District.

• July 30: Khar bombing — at least 54 people were killed in a suicide bombing at an event held by supporters of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) party.

• July 31: One police officer was killed in gunfire in Mardan.

• August 1: Two police officers were killed in a gun attack on a polio vaccination team in Kili Nawa, Quetta.

• August 7: A roadside bomb in the town of Kech in southwestern Pakistan struck a vehicle and killed seven of the Baluchistan Awami Party.

• August 20: An IED blast killed 11 in Waziristan.

• August 22: Eight Pakistani soldiers were killed and six injured in an ambush by the TTP in Tiarza, South Waziristan.

This year alone, Pakistan has witnessed more than 65 cases of horrendous terror assaults. Unfortunately, the security establishment, intelligence apparatus, and the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have all failed to rein in these terror incidents. Similarly, in the years 2022 and 2021, there was a noticeable trend of terror acts, and there has been no abatement thus far.

Apart from the repeated terror attacks, Pakistan also recently experienced an ugly blasphemy-linked incident in Jaranwala, where a mob torched several churches, ransacked Christian homes, and vandalized a graveyard. The apparent provocation was alleged blasphemy committed by a Christian. This served as an excuse for local preachers to incite people and unleash a reign of terror on churches and homes belonging to this particular faith whose contributions, particularly in the field of education, are immense. Many academics point out that leaders in Pakistan take pride in graduating from schools run by the Christian community, yet they target the Christian minority with impunity and brutality.

Meanwhile, a large section of the media and saner elements have strongly condemned the perpetrators of such hate-driven and blasphemous attacks on the minority community. They also hold social media responsible for these incidents, as uncontrolled and directionless social media-driven rumours spread rapidly, leading to violence in the form of communal flare-ups based on rumour-mongering. In the past, Hindus, Christians, and Ahmadiyyas have been systematically targeted in such heinous offenses. It is now evident that people, in general, are in a condemnation mode, criticizing those who commit such acts against Christians or any other minority group. It is possible that people are increasingly wary about Pakistan's image being tarnished in the international quarters, and hence, these reactions show sympathy and support for the persecuted minority.

The writer is a retired IPS officer, Adviser NatStrat, and a former National Security Advisor in Mauritius. Views expressed are personal