ISLAMABAD: Terrorism-related deaths in the country surged by 73 per cent in February, compared to the previous month, with nearly 62 per cent of the total fatalities occurring in Balochistan, highlighting the growing insurgency in the province.

A total of 121 people were killed and 103 others injured in 54 terrorist attacks recorded across the country during the month.

The Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think-tank, released these statistics on Thursday in its Pakistan Monthly Security Report for February 2025.

The frequency of high-impact and high-intensity attacks by banned Baloch insurgent groups has been increasing in Balochistan, as reflected in the rising terrorism-related casualties in the province, the report says.

Out of the total 121 casualties recorded during Febr­uary, as many as 75 occurred in Balochistan. One example is the martyrdom of 18 Pakistan army soldiers in a single assault in Kalat.

The total reported fatalities comprised 56 security and law-enforcement personnel, 37 civilians, and 28 militants. Significant casualties resulted from three attacks targeting non-Baloch workers and travelers in Balochistan, with 21 people dead and seven others injured.

As many as 30 terrorist attacks took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last month. These attacks claimed 45 lives and injured 58 others. The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, Lashkar-i-Islam, the militant Islamic State-Khorasan group and some unknown terrorists perpetrated these attacks in the province. About half of the reported attacks were concentrated in southern KP districts of Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat, and North and South Waziristan.

Fatalities in terrorist incidents in Balochistan saw a significant increase during the month. As many as 75 people were killed in 23 attacks reported from the province and another 45 people were injured. Baloch insurgent groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army, Balochistan Liberation Front and Baloch Republican Guards, perpetrated a combined total of 22 attacks, causing 74 deaths and inflicting injuries on 45 others. One attack was orchestrated by the TTP in Balochistan, which killed one person.

No terrorist attack took place in Punjab during the month. One terrorist incident occurred in Karachi. Out of the total 54 attacks reported during February, as many as 32 were carried out by religiously inspired militant groups, mainly the outlawed TTP and its affiliates (30 in KP and one attack each in Sindh and Balochistan), which killed 47 people and injured 58 others.

The data shows that over 68 per cent (37 attacks) of all recorded terrorist attacks in the country specifically targeted security and law-enforcement personnel. During the month, security forces conducted 20 operational strikes targeting militants, including 19 strikes in various districts of KP and one in Balochistan’s Harnai district.

These kinetic operations resulted in the death of 131 militants while six soldiers were martyred.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2025