Edit in The Nation, April 17, 2023
A recently released report by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) reveals that at least 854 people were killed or wounded in militant attacks and counterterrorism operations in the first quarter of this year, a number that was half of what witnessed during the entire 2022. These numbers only underscore how serious the challenge is and that we are now in the middle of a full-blown internal war once again. Given the complex nature of this challenge, we will need all hands on deck in the form of a national consensus to eradicate this menace successfully once and for all.
As per the report, the number of deaths was 358 and that of injuries was 496, which resulted from as many as 219 terrorist attacks and counterterrorism operations during the January-March period. Further, most of the deaths have been reported in KP, followed by Balochistan, and then in Sindh, Punjab and Islamabad. January in particular was exceptionally fatal for the security forces, with the second-highest number of fatalities of security personnel in a single month, second only to July 2014 with 118 fatalities. These statistics make it clear that we are in the middle of a full-blown internal war once again.
Another trend which is quite apparent this time around is that the number of civilian casualties have gone down, and the main target of the militant groups have been security forces. This explains why the fatalities of security and government officials have almost doubled compared to the first quarter of last year.
Most of the attention and discourse has been centered around the TTP, but the numbers reveal that there are many other outfits that have been enabled over the past year or so. This only illustrates how this challenge will require a multifaceted and coordinated approach. The military leadership is also right in calling for a collective approach, one that involves the entire nation and the government to effectively eradicate terrorism. Past mistakes—engaging the terrorists into dialogue and allowing them space to recuperate—have cost the nation heavily, and going forward, we can ill-afford any missteps in this quest to rid the country of this menace.
https://www.nation.com.pk/17-Apr-2023/terrorism-casualties
