Pakistan witnessed rise in attacks on high profile targets in March: Report
Apr 04, 2024
Islamabad [Pakistan], April 4 : Pakistan has been witnessing a rise in attacks on high-profile targets within the country, an Islamabad-based think tank, the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), said in its report.
The report claimed that these targeted attacks have resulted in a total of 56 terror incidents, resulting in 77 fatalities and 67 injuries throughout March.
According to the same report, a trend of targeting security installations and civilian targets was also witnessed in Pakistan in March. The incidents that were quoted in the research report are at the Pakistani security forces camp in Mir Ali, resulting in deaths and injuries of officers and soldiers.
In addition, an attack targeted offices of intelligence services in Gwadar Port Complex, and Pakistan's second largest Naval Air Station PNS Siddique in Turbat was also attacked. Furthermore, a suicide attack occurred against Chinese workers in Basham Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, resulting in the deaths of five Chinese nationals and one Pakistani driver.
Notably, most of these targeted locations were part of Chinese investments in Pakistan. According to the report, districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have witnessed the highest number of attacks. A total of 27 attacks took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in March, which resulted in 31 deaths and several injuries.
In March, Balochistan witnessed 16 terrorist attacks, resulting in 26 deaths and 21 cases of severe injuries, according to the report. Furthermore, the tribal areas in Pakistan recorded a total of 11 attacks, which caused 18 fatalities and 15 injuries. Pakistan's Punjab province and capital, Islamabad, saw one attack each.
Referring to the PICSS database, the report mentioned that the first quarter of 2024 witnessed a total of 246 attacks in Pakistan, resulting in 254 deaths and 320 injuries. This marks a significant rise of 58 percent in terrorist activities compared to the last quarter of 2023, with a 20 per cent increase in resultant fatalities and a 29 per cent rise in injuries.
