More than 150 people were killed in around six terrorist attacks claimed bythe Daesh group in Pakistan in 2017.
This was stated in the Pakistan Security Report 2017, released by thePakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think-tankspecialising in security and conflict dynamics of Pakistan and the region.
The organisation compiled its findings on the basis of its multi-sourcedatabase, coupled with interviews and articles by subject experts.Decrease in number of attacks, fatalities
The report tallied that militant, nationalist/insurgent and violentsectarian groups carried out a total of 370 terrorist attacks in 64districts of Pakistan in 2017 — including 24 suicide and gun-and-suicidecoordinated attacks — killing 815 people, besides injuring 1,736. Theseattacks posted a 16 per cent decrease from the total in the previous year;even the number of people killed fell by 10 per cent.[image: an image]Terror attacks in Pakistan down 58%: NACTA
2017 witnessed 681 terror incidents — the lowest ratio since 2006link>
Of these attacks, as many as 213 or 58 per cent, were perpetrated byTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), its splinter groups mainly Jamaatul Ahrarand other militant groups, killing 186 people.
Meanwhile, nationalist insurgent groups, mostly in Balochistan and a few inSindh, carried out 138 attacks, or 37 per cent of the total, killing 140people. As many as 19 terrorist attacks were sectarian-related, in whichkilled 71 people and inflicted injuries on 97 others.
The report also noted that compared to 2016, a significant surge of 131 percent was witnessed during 2017 in cross-border attacks from Pakistan’sborders with Afghanistan, India and Iran. A total of 171 cross-borderattacks claimed 188 lives and injured 348 others.[image: an image]link>
Furthermore, security forces and law enforcement agencies killed a total of524 militants in 2017 – compared to 809 in 2016 – in 75 military/securityoperations as well as 68 armed clashes and encounters with militantsreported from across four provinces and FATA.
At the same time, some new challenges raised their heads; these includedemergence of self-radicalised individuals and small terrorist cells,growing incidence of religious extremism including on educational campuses,and, most importantly, increasing footprints of Daesh in parts of thecountry and convergence of its fighters in Afghanistan near the border. In2017, Daesh and its local affiliates/supporters claimed six major terroristattacks, killing 153 people.
In Balochistan, the group carried out a suicide attack on the convoy ofSenate Deputy Chairman Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri in Mastung, besidesabducting Chinese nationals from Quetta and killing them later. Sindh’sdeadliest attack in terms of casualties was on the Sufi shrine in SehwanSharif, claimed by Daesh as well.