ISLAMABAD, Dec 31: Political violence in the fourth week of December (22-28) affected 170 people, in 48 incidents, across the country.

With a death toll of 108 and 40 injured.

The dead include 48 militants, killed in Frontier Constabulary operations in Balochistan and military operations in Khyber Agency and Swat.

On the whole, militant casualties were 44 per cent of the total death toll, while no militant was killed in the previous week.

This was disclosed through a report released by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), on Monday.

Most of the incidents were reported in Sindh, followed by nine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), seven in Balochistan, three in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and one each in Frontier Region of Peshawar (FR-Peshawar) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). As in the third week, no incident of political violence was reported in Punjab.

Compared to the third week, the number of incidents went up by 17 per cent and the death toll surged from 75 to 108 in the current week.

However, the number of wounded went down from 166 to 40. In addition 22 Levi officials were kidnapped in FR-Peshawar, in the fourth week.

In Balochistan 51 people were killed and two injured. The dead included 37 militants who were killed by Frontier Constabulary in counter insurgency operations in Awaran. In Sindh 33 people were killed and 12 injured, a 41 per cent increase in the number of dead and injured from the third week.

In KPK, 13 people were killed and 24 injured while in FR-Peshawar, two killed and 22 were kidnapped, who were later killed. In Fata eight militants were killed in a military operation. Similarly two people were injured in an attack on a Nato supply vehicle. A security man was killed in an attack on state security forces.

In attacks on political party leaders and workers, eight were killed and 17 injured in a suicide attack in Peshawar, outside the house of Awami National Party (ANP) leader, during a political meeting. In Charsadda, an ANP local leader was shot dead, while an ANP worker and three MQM workers were killed in Karachi.

In Karachi 16 died and one was injured in sectarian attacks. No incident of sectarian violence was reported elsewhere in the country in the fourth week.

Eleven incidents of targeted killings in Karachi claimed the lives of 11 people, while one was injured. Ethnic violence claimed lives of five settlers in Bolan, Balochistan, while a Baloch was killed and another was injured in Karachi.

Weapon of choice in incidents of violence is gun/firearm, killing 91 people and injuring nine.