By Ashrafuddin Pirzada
ISLAMABAD(FVNA): Pakistan Institute for Conflicts and Security Studies(PICSS)in its monthly reports showed a six percent increase in militant attacks that developed an uncertain situation in Pakistan, especially in merged tribal districts.
The PICSS issued its June report in which a slight increase in militant attacks was reported. The report said as many as 19 militant attacks were recorded in June in which 24 people were killed while 38 others were injured in Pakistan. It further said May had witnessed 18 militant attacks in which 34 people were killed and 15 others were injured.
The report stated that militant attacks were almost six percent increased in June when compared with May. It however said the number of casualties has gone down by almost 29 percent but the number of those injured increased by almost 153 percent.
According to PICSS statistics for June, 12 security forces personnel were among those 24 people killed in June. It said seven citizens and five suspected militants were also got killed in June 2020.
The report said 27 civilians and 11 security forces personnel were also injured in the militant attacks in Pakistan.
According to PICSS monthly report, militants increased their attacks by 67 percent in April, May by 66 percent, and 47 percent in June in the merged tribal districts.
The highest number of militant attacks were reported from the erstwhile Fata region where nine militant attacks were reported in June in which eight people including five security forces personnel two civilians and a militant were killed.14 others including nine security forces personnel and five civilians were also injured.
After the erstwhile Fata region, the report said that Sindh was the second most affected region with six militant attacks in which 14 people including six security forces personnel, four civilians, and four militants were killed while 12 others including 10 civilians and two security forces personnel were injured.
An increase in militant attacks suggested that renewed effort is being made to revive militancy in Sindh. Three militant attacks were reported from Punjab in which one civilian was killed and 12 others were injured in June. An increase in militant attacks in Sindh and Punjab indicates that militant groups with their foreign patronage were trying to revive urban militancy in Pakistan, the report mentioned.
The PCISS in its Jube report said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa witnessed one militant attack in which one security forces personnel was killed. Notably, no militant attack was observed in Balochistan during the month of June.
It said in the report that out of 19 militant attacks, 11 were IED-based attacks, six physical assaults while one was a grenade attack and one was an incident of a targeted killing.
Most of the causalities during the month of June were caused by militants’ physical assaults as 14 people were killed including seven security forces personnel, five militants, and two civilians in these six physical assaults, the report said.
Four civilians and two security forces personnel were also injured in these six assaults. Improvised explosive device-based attacks caused eight deaths including four security forces personnel and four civilians while 26 others including 18 civilians and eight security forces personnel were injured in these 11 IED-based attacks.
In the grenade attack recorded during the month of June, a civilian was killed while six people including five civilians and a security forces personnel were injured. Another security forces personnel was killed in an incident of targeted killing in June 2020, the PCISS said in its report.
The report said that the security forces carried out 19 significant actions throughout the country and killed 25 suspected militants while eight others were arrested. Four security forces actions were reported from erstwhile Fata regions, five from the rest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four from Punjab, three from Sindh, two from Islamabad Capital Territory, and one from Gilgit-Baltistan.
