By Ashrafuddin Pirzada
PESHAWAR: The militancy-related incidents in which human casualties were reported in North Waziristan in the month of April indicate that it is becoming a trouble zone again.
The PICSS monthly report said that a slight upward tick has been observed in casualties in militant attacks across Pakistan during the month of April 2020. Though the number of militant attacks remained the same as compared to March 2020.
It said in the report that an increase was also observed in the activities of Pakistani security forces against the militants.
PCISS shows a number of casualties in militant activities in the report which increased by 6 percent but injuries decreased by 75 percent compared with March 2020, across Pakistan.
PICSS recorded a total of nine militant attacks during April 2020 in which eighteen people died including ten security forces personnel and eight militants while six security forces personnel got injured.
The merged tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also witnessed the highest number of violent militant activities where six out of a total of nine attacks took place.
According to PICSS, eight security forces personnel lost their lives in the tribal districts of KP while eight militants were killed in the militancy-related incidents. Four security forces personnel were also injured in erstwhile Fata districts.
The report said that apart from eight militants killed during retaliatory actions by security forces, 21 more militants were also killed in the tribal districts of KP in actions initiated by the security forces. It seems that the militants were trying to get back some territory in the North Waziristan tribal district of KP where most of these violent activities were recorded last month.
The alarming situation in North Waziristan can be gauged from the fact that 90 percent of the casualties in violent incidents during the month of April took place in this district.
PICSS mentioned in its report that two militant attacks were reported in Balochistan and one in Sindh –all of them of minor nature with two casualties in Balochistan.
No militant activity was recorded in Panjab, Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and other parts of Pakistan but the incident Kidnapping took place in the provincial capital of Sindh where a 39-year-old Chinese national was abducted in the month of April. The Chinese trader was not working on any project related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. He was recovered after 9 days of kidnapping by Karachi Police.
Meanwhile, Pakistani security forces carried out a total of 16 actions against militants in areas of Balochistan, KPK, erstwhile Fata, and Sindh.
The report said that the Pakistani security forces arrested 12 suspects involved in different terror and anti-state activities including eight from Sindh and four from KP. Four members of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) were also arrested in Karachi in April.
The report gave space to the arrest of an assistant sub-inspector of Police who was arrested for his alleged ties with the Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). During an information-based raid on Karachi University, Pakistani law enforcement agencies recovered weapons, ammunition, computers, anti-state literature, maps, and checkboxes.
The report said that RAW agents were planning to establish an office in the Applied Economics Department of the University. In the security forces’ actions, a total of 27 militants were killed and 4 security forces personnel were martyred in retaliatory firing by the militants.
