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Pakistan
AsiaSouth Asia

Pakistan averaged 1 militant attack every 14 hours in 2023, with 976 people killed

  • More would have been killed and injured if security forces had not foiled hundreds of other attacks and attempts, an Islamabad think tank said
  • The violence is at least partly seen as a reaction from nationalist rebels to Chinese investment in the southwestern province of Balochistan

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Pakistani security personnel wait at a checkpoint in Peshawar in December following deadly attacks by militants targeting soldiers and police. Photo: EPA-EFE
dpa
Pakistan has witnessed yet another year of “unprecedented” attacks, with about a 70 per cent rise in attacks, an 81 per cent increase in attack-related deaths and a 62 per cent increase in the wounded, the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies said.

The figures, released on Monday, showed at least 645 militant attacks across the country in 2023, with 976 people killed and 1,354 injured. That averages out to about one attack every 14 hours.

The figures for 2022 were 380 attacks, with 539 killed and 836 wounded.

02:40
Dozens killed by suicide bombing at Pakistan political gathering
The roughly 70 per cent increase in deadly attacks by militants last year made it the deadliest in more than half a decade as the violence continued to surge since the Taliban takeover of neighbouring Afghanistan.
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The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank, said more would have been killed or injured if the country’s security forces had not foiled hundreds of attacks and attempts during the year.

Most attacks were claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, a group with the same ideology but a different organisational structure than their Afghan counterpart.

Pakistan says the group launches attacks from its alleged hideouts in the border region of Afghanistan. Kabul denies the charge.

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