“Pakistan saw rise in ‘terror attacks’ in 2022 as TTP turned biggest threat”

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 1 (ANI): The year 2022 ended with the deadliest month for Pakistan’s security personnel in over a decade, said an Islamabad-based think tank as it pointed to the emergence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as the biggest threat to the country.

In its annual report released on Saturday, the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) said Pakistan security forces lost at least 282 personnel during 2022 in attacks that included IED ambushes, suicide attacks, and raids on security posts, mostly in the Pakistan-Afghan border regions. “The year 2022 ended with the deadliest month (thus far) for Pakistan’s security personnel over a decade, with the emergence of a new terror triad comprising TTP, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Daesh-Afghanistan as the biggest threat to the country,” the CRSS report said.

December 2022 alone saw 40 fatalities as it became the year’s deadliest month.
“Security forces lost at least 282 personnel during 2022 (with 40 fatalities only in December being the deadliest month of the year) in attacks that included IED ambushes, suicide attacks, and raids on security posts, mostly in the Pakistan-Afghan border regions,” the think tank added.

After the recent surge in attacks, the US, UK, Australia and Saudi Arabia in December issued advisories and asked their nationals to restrict movements in Pakistan and avoid non-essential trips.

“The country suffered as many as 376 terror attacks this year, though banned terror outfits such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Daish (Islamic State Khorasan), and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for 57 of these strikes,” the CRSS report said.

As a whole Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province experienced an exponential rise in violence whereby the fatalities there went up by 108 per cent.
According to CRSS, total fatalities from terrorist violence were as many as 973 – a 14.47 per cent spike compared to 2021.

The major percentage of victims of violence were civilians, government officials, and security personnel while the militants, insurgents and other outlaws were counted for the remaining 38 per cent of all fatalities this year.
Among civilians there were some foreigners as well – four Chinese and a former commander of the Afghan police, the think tank added.