ISLAMABAD: The country has witnessed an increase in terror related incidents during the year 2021 with a total of 88 major incidents compared to 53 such incidents during the year 2020.
According to data compiled by Business Recorder from independent sources and media reports, a total of 248 people – 139 civilians and 109 security forces personnel – lost their lives due to terror related incidents during the year, which is higher than the total number of 201 casualties during the year 2020, of which 87 were civilians and 114 security forces personnel.
Data shows that at least 40 major terror related incidents were witnessed during the last four and half months from August 15, 2021 till December 30, 2021, the period after Afghan Taliban took over Kabul with 98 fatalities of which 48 were civilians and 50 security forces personnel.
From January 2021 till August 14, 2021, a total of 56 terror incidents took place across the country. There was a slight dip in the number of terror attacks from November 9 till December 9, 2021 following the month-long ceasefire announced by outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as a result of peace talks with government of Pakistan, facilitated by the Afghan Taliban.
After the end of the temporary ceasefire, confirmed both by the government of Pakistan and the proscribed TTP earlier in November, three terror attacks with six civilian fatalities were reported: two in Balochistan – on Nov 12 in Quetta and Nov 21 in Harnai, Balochistan – with no militant outfit claiming responsibility for either of the attacks.
On November 27, there was an attack in Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, as according to ISPR, the terrorists targeted a military post in the bordering area. During the intense exchange of fire, two soldiers, Naik Rehman, age 27 years, resident of Chitral and Lance Naik Arif, age 22 years, resident of Tank, embraced martyrdom, the ISPR further stated.
On December 25, militants attacked a military check post in North Waziristan near Pakistan-Afghan border, killing one security personnel, while on December 24 a similar attack took place in Balochistan in Kech districts, in which two soldiers were martyred.
Talking to Business Recorder on condition of anonymity, a senior government official said that despite the ongoing talks with the TTP, security forces are on high alert to foil any terrorist attack as the threat from the so-called IS-Khorasan also known as Daesh and the Baloch separatist militants cannot be ruled out.
Despite the TTP’s reluctance to extend the ceasefire agreement, the peace talks with the militant outfit are reportedly ongoing with the facilitation of the Afghan Taliban.
On December 22 Business Recorder reported that the local Afghan Taliban members headed by intelligence chief for Nangarhar province of Afghanistan along with Afghan security forces dismantled a section of razor wire fence along Pakistan-Afghanistan international border in parts of the country’s Nangarhar province following a war of words with Pakistani security personnel.
Request for comment from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ISPR went unanswered. However, subsequently a report was filed by a foreign news agency, quoting Afghan defence ministry spokesman Enayatullah Khwarazmias saying that Taliban forces stopped the Pakistani military from erecting an “illegal” border fence along the province of Nangarhar.
However, a Pakistani government official down played the incident, saying that everything was resolved. Pakistan has almost completed fencing of approximately 2,670 kilometres porous border with Afghanistan aimed at preventing terrorism, smuggling, illegal immigration, and cross border infiltration of the militants.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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