Summary
Pakistan Army’s worst nightmare coming true In just 9 months— Pak lost 386 soldiers.
~Number of soldiers lost is the highest in the last 8 years.
~137 Army soldiers, 208 Police personnel killed
~1087 incidents of violence, mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & Balochistan
Pic credit: CRSS
In the initial nine months of 2023, Pakistan’s security forces experienced a significant loss of personnel, totaling at least 386 individuals. This accounts for 36% of all fatalities during this period. Among these casualties, 137 were from the army, and 208 were police officers. This marks the highest number of security force fatalities in eight years, primarily in the regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Out of the 1087 fatalities attributed to acts of violence recorded thus far in the year, 368 (34%) were suffered by those engaged in illegal activities, while civilians accounted for 333 (31%) of the total casualties, as indicated in the CRSS Security Report for the third quarter of 2023.
Pakistan supported the creation of Taliban in Afghanistan as Pakistan Army believed this would keep the Pashtuns occupied with internal conflicts and they will never demand a Pashtun land. With TTP (Tehreek E Taliban) making incessant attacks on Pakistan Army, atleast a few believe creation of Taliban has added to the woes of Pakistan
The CRSS report claims terrorism was responsible for about 79% of all violence-related deaths in Q3 2023, when 141 attacks resulted in 318 fatalities and 381 injuries among civilians and security personnel. However, there were only 49 security operations, resulting in 127 outlaw deaths and 59 injuries. This illustrates the vast disparity between the frequency of terrorist attacks and Pakistan’s counterterrorism operations, as well as the quantity of criminals apprehended during security operations.
In the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, there has been a steady increase in violence over the past five years. The collective percentage of violent deaths reported in these two provinces, which shows an upward trend over the last five years and accounted for 72% of all fatalities in 2019 before surging to a 92% in the first nine months of 2023, is of equal or greater concern.
In the third quarter of 2023, there were a total of 190 incidents involving terrorism and counter-terror operations, resulting in 445 fatalities and 440 injuries. The provinces of KP and Balochistan were the main focal points of this violence, with these regions accounting for nearly 94% of all reported deaths and 89% of the recorded attacks, encompassing both acts of terrorism and security forces’ operations during this period.
With the overall number of fatalities rising from 284 in Q2 to 445 in Q3, 2023, the last three months also saw an alarming 57% increase in violence. This includes a startling 131% increase that was seen in Balochistan and a 28% increase in KP. When compared to the previous quarter, violence significantly decreased in Punjab (67%), while it significantly increased in Sindh (283%), despite the relatively low number of fatalities (23). Punjab is considered to be one of the most prosperous states of Pakistan.
In this quarter, Pakistani civilians bore the brunt of the violence and accounted for the majority of casualties (almost 58%), followed by security personnel (nearly 23%). Only roughly 20% of all fatalities during this time were caused by outlaws, who also suffered the least.
The report concludes the following:
- The year has witnessed a significant increase in their casualties, with 386 lives lost. This marks the highest number of fatalities in eight years, surpassing the levels seen in 2016 and reaching a peak not seen since 2015.
- Their proportion of fatalities compared to other victims of violence in the current year has also reached a record high of nearly 36%, the highest in the past 11 years.
- Since 2021, there has been a consistent upward trend in the number of security forces’ fatalities.