ISLAMABAD: As per latest statistics collected by the Ministry of Interior, Sindh has over the past five years led in sending terrorists to gallows, followed by the three other provinces and independent administrative regions.

The PPP-ruled province, according to the ministry’s figures, also has more terrorists awaiting execution than the rest of the country.

Until the last week of November Sindh carried out capital punishment in 106 cases, followed by Punjab with 64 terrorists.

The Islamabad Capital Territory, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan each have sent one terrorist to the gallows. Not a single death punishment has been carried out in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata), Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) during this period.

Same is the case regarding the number of terrorists awaiting execution. Here, Sindh stands out with 98, Punjab 81 and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 25. Balochistan and Islamabad each have one condemned prisoner. There is no terrorist on death row in Fata, AJK and GB.

During the PPP government at the centre (from 2008 to 2013) there was an unannounced moratorium on the death penalty. Though the figures are of the past five years, most of these executions have been carried out after the terrorist attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar in December last year.

With 11 military courts set up under the 21st Amendment in January this year, the number of terrorists facing death penalty is likely to go up in coming days.

The latest figures released by ISPR (Inter-Services Public Relations) over the weekend said that of the 142 cases of terrorism heard by military courts 55 had been finalised and 87 were in process.

Military courts convicted 31 terrorists, 27 of them have been executed and four sentenced to life imprisonment.

On Dec 8, Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif signed the death warrants of another four terrorists.

In the category of terrorists killed in actions carried out by law-enforcement agencies, Fata leads with 2,530, followed by Balochistan with 435, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 351, Sindh 342, Punjab 90, Islamabad 7, AJK 3 and GB 1.

The marked difference in the number of terrorists killed in Fata is largely because of the ongoing military operations in tribal areas.

KP and Fata are on top of the list of law-enforcement personnel and civilians killed and injured in terrorist attacks.

In KP, 872 security personnel lost their lives and 1,696 suffered injuries. It suffered death of its 2,422 civilians while 2,725 people were injured.

In Fata, 1,487 personnel were killed and 2,224 injured. The number of civilian deaths is 1,470 and of those injured 2,761.

In Punjab, 107 security personnel lost their lives and 582 suffered injuries. Terrorist attacks in the province have claimed 152 civilian lives and left 1,827 people injured.

In Sindh, 64 security personnel were killed in terrorist attacks and 84 injured while 313 civilians lost their lives and 1,045 suffered injuries.

Though only one security man lost his live in a terrorist attack in Islamabad, the number of civilian deaths in such attacks is 61 with 211 others suffered injuries.

In GB, 17 security personnel lost their lives and 32 suffered injuries in terrorist attacks. The number of civilian deaths in such attacks in GB is 63.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2015