We have left behind the dark days of death, destruction and mayhem caused by terrorism. Due to the efforts of law enforcers, Pakistan registered a nearly 31% reduction in terror-related fatalities over the past year, according to figures compiled by a think tank, Center for Research and Security Studies.
In its recently-announced annual report, the think tank said a 30.71% decline in fatalities was observed in 2019, down from 980 in 2018 to 679 in the year just gone by. The report noted that if Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the erstwhile Federally- Administered Tribal Areas are counted as separate regions, then Balochistan emerges as the region most affected by militancy and insurgency with 226 fatalities this year. This, however, represents a reduction of 44.2% in fatalities in 2019, down from 405 fatalities in 2018. After Balochistan, the largest drop in fatalities has been seen in the newly-merged tribal districts with a change of 39%, from 192 recorded in 2018 to 117 in 2019. Sindh saw a drop of 19pc, from 121 cases in 2018 to 98 in 2019; Punjab registered an 11.83% drop in fatalities, from 93 in 2018 to 82 in 2019. In K-P, there was a decline of 5.13%, down from 156 in 2018 to 148 in 2019. Islamabad, however, saw a rise in violence, witnessing seven fatalities in 2019 as against six in 2018. Gilgit-Baltistan showed the most improvement, going from seven fatalities in 2018 to zero fatalities in 2019.
In nearly 370 terror attacks during 2019 in the country, 518 persons died. This was a 30% drop from 739 fatalities caused by nearly 400 terror attacks in 2018. Civilians continued to be the most affected by terror-related incidents. However, overall civilian fatalities from terror attacks declined by around 36.28% from 521 in 2018 to 332 in 2019. A total of 141 militants were arrested.
The war on terror also needs to be focused on countering closed minds.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2020.
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