In August 2024, Generally terrorist activities increased in Pakistan where 59 terrorist incidents were reported in total as opposed to the 38 reported in the preceding month. More information on these attacks can be found at the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think tank, recorded that it led to the killing of 84 people,, and 166 others were left injured.
Baluchistan and f. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the province most targeted with Baluchistan recording 28 and f. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 29 attacks. Balochistan province was the most affected by the violence that resulted in 57 deaths with 84 others injured. The security forces said that a banned militant group, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) was responsible for most of the violence as it claimed responsibility for 26 out of 28 incidents in the province. The BLA in its separate attack on the security forces and non-Baloch Pakistanis and important installations in seven districts of Balochistan on August 26 claimed several lives.
After Karachi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was second on the list regarding terrorist activities, 25 have been killed, and 80 have been injured. The terrorist attacks in this region were conducted by such groups as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, Lashkar-e-Islam, and the IS-K.
Punjab too has been comparatively safer; however,, it witnessed two acts of terrorism in August that left two civilians dead and two terrorists killed.
To counter the increase in violence, Pakistan’s security forces as well as Counterterrorism Departments (CTDs) conducted 12 counter-militant operations through the country in August 2020, although only slightly less than the operations conducted in the previous month in July 2020. The said operations increased the death of 88 militants but on the other hand, the militants were able to kill 15 soldiers and 3 policemen. The larger part of such activities was carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the remainder in Balochistan.
The PIPS report which was part of this document pointed out that BLA has been acquiring new skills in their operation; they recently started to use better weapons and have introduced a new strategy of attacking Punjabi on highways. Something interesting should be noted in this report about the situation in Balochistan and the government’s apology for it: the necessity of the government to work on the discussed grievances including enforced disappearances and resource exploitation, as the continuation of acts,s will inevitably provoke increasing support for the BLA.
The report called on the democratically elected Pakistan government to provide the Baloch people with political and social opportunities and for the Pakistan government to work out counter-terrorism and border management cooperation with Afghanistan and Iran. The increase in violence within Balochistan province remains a major threat to the stability of the area and hence needs a multi-faceted and collaborative approach to counter the gist of militant organizations.
