ISLAMABAD: Pakistan lost 196 persons in the first quarter of 2021, and another 42 were wounded. The erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), now merged into Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, recorded the highest number of fatalities (67), followed by Balochistan (48), KP (35), Sindh (26), Punjab (18), and Islamabad (two).

More than 70pc of all fatalities were reported from KP and Balochistan. Despite significant progress in reducing the number of fatalities from violence over the last 6 years, violence-related casualties seem concentrated in these two regions, this was included in the Quarter Security Report, published by Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).

A marginal uptick in the number of fatalities was recorded during this quarter as compared to the last quarter’s figures. Former Fata was the only region where there was a sharp upsurge in violence. From a dip of 22pc observed in January, the number of fatalities went up during the next two months. The highest surge was recorded in February that offset the gain that was observed in January.

According to the report, North and South Waziristan districts of KP saw the highest number of fatalities during the first quarter followed by Karachi, Peshawar, Machh, and Sibbi with double digit fatalities.

Like the previous quarter, gun violence was a major cause of fatalities. Intelligence-based ground operations also continued to contribute to fatalities while other forms of violence like bomb explosions, armed attacks, and dumping of dead bodies after abduction were also reported. Encounters between security personnel and suspects caused the demise of 12 people.

Civilians again accounted for the largest number of fatalities this quarter (84); a marginal drop in fatalities of militants, criminals, and insurgents was also witnessed whereas fatalities of security personnel went up by 4pc.

As many as 14 persons lost their lives and three were injured in terror attacks that were motivated by sectarian hatred; Balochistan had the highest number of fatalities (11) from this crime while similar incidents were reported from Sindh, KP, and Punjab.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2021