The proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is becoming a major irritant in Islamabad’s relations with the Taliban government in Kabul as the militant group, which is believed to be operating from neighbouring Afghanistan, remained one of the major actors of violence in Pakistan in the year 2022.
In 2022, the number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan marked an increase of 27 per cent from the previous year. The number of terrorist attacks in the country also continued to rise for the second consecutive year.
A total of 262 terrorist attacks in Pakistan in the year, including 14 suicide bombings, claimed 419 lives and injured another 734 people. A 25 per cent increase has been recorded in fatalities in the outgoing year as compared with 2021.
Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based policy research and advocacy think tank, revealed these statistics and analysis on the overall security situation of Pakistan during the outgoing year in its annual “Pakistan Security Report 2022”.
Out of the total attacks, the banned TTP carried out 89 terrorist attacks in Pakistan in the year 2022. The Islamic State’s Khorasan (IS-K) chapter also stepped up its attacks in the year and carried out at least 23 terrorist attacks as compared to eight in 2021.
The security report notes that the Afghan Taliban's seizing of power in Kabul, and the Pakistani state's mistaken and persistent ambition to engage in peace talks with the TTP encouraged the group to regroup and escalate terrorist violence in the country.
About half of the total fatalities or deaths (419), caused by terrorist attacks in 2022, were concentrated among personnel of security forces and law enforcement agencies. Another 234 personnel of security and law enforcement agencies were also injured in the reported terrorist attacks. Similarly, 152 civilians lost their lives and another 498 were wounded in these attacks.
About 95 per cent of the total recorded terrorist attacks in Pakistan in the outgoing year happened in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
Cross-border attacks
The report says that insecurity and violence at the Pak-Afghan border have been growing gradually since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan. “Taliban have apparently taken a stricter and nationalistic stance in their response to Pakistan's efforts to fence the border,” it states.
Secondly, the refugee issue as well as illegal cross-border movements have also added to border tensions. As many as 15 cross-border attacks took place in Pakistan in 2022. Out of the total, 13 attacks happened from across the country’s border with Afghanistan in K-P and Balochistan. These attacks from Afghanistan killed 34 people including 20 security officials and injured 52 others.
State response
Compared to 63 in the year before, security forces and law enforcement agencies conducted 87 anti-militant operational strikes in 2022 in 25 districts and regions of Pakistan. These actions caused a total of 327 fatalities including 302 militants, 22 army soldiers, and one each Frontier Corps (FC) soldier, policeman, and civilian – as compared to 197 in 2021 – besides injuring 51 others.
Recommendations
The report recommends that the government should come up with a proper mechanism to implement the National Security Policy (NSP) as well as the revised National Action Plan (NAP); increase the capacity and role of civilian law enforcement agencies that will prevent the terrorist threat to a significant extent, adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards the terrorist groups, and there should be no negotiations with those who are unwilling to quit violence. PIPS report argues that Pakistan needs to introduce critical shifts in foreign policy pursuits.
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