Casualties from violence in Pakistan soar in year's first quarter: Report
In the first quarter of this year, militant attacks and counterterrorism operations killed or wounded 854 individuals in Pakistan, which is half of the 2022 total, a report says.
The Centre for Research and Security Studies' of Pakistan said in a report that as many as 219 terrorist acts and counterterrorism operations occurred between January and March, resulting in 358 fatalities and 496 injuries, DAWN has reported.
KP recorded the most deaths (245, or 68%), followed by Balochistan (64, or 18%), Sindh, Punjab, and Islamabad.
According to the research, 2023 began with the worst January for security forces in a decade, continuing a trend from the year before, which finished with the bloodiest Dec for them in a decade.
Only July 2014, with 118 fatalities, had a higher monthly death toll for security personnel (111), which made January the second-highest month overall.
However, compared to the same period last year, the number of civilian deaths due to violence fell by more than half, from 136 to 63 in the first quarter, adds the report.
"Most concerningly, the fatalities of security and government officials almost doubled, from 88 in the first quarter of last year to 167 in the first quarter this year," the report said.
The terrorist attacks against security personnel, government officials, and civilians accounted for most incidents of violence and counter-violence that took place in the first quarter. The outlawed TTP carried out at least 22 attacks causing 107 fatalities.