KARACHI: Civilian casualties from militant attacks in Pakistan increased by 80% in November, a new security report said on Monday, amid a surge in militancy in the South Asian country.
The development comes amid a resurgence of militant activity across Pakistan’s northwestern and southwestern regions that border Afghanistan and where security forces have been battling an array of militant groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
Islamabad has accused Kabul of allowing its soil and India of backing these militant groups in carrying out cross-border attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi have consistently denied the allegation. The surge in attacks also sparked fierce border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Oct.
The South Asian country saw a slight rise in militant attacks in Nov., which was marked by an 80% jump in civilian fatalities and a sharp 65% reduction in losses incurred by security forces, according to Islamabad-based think-thank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).
“November witnessed ‘more measured actions’ by security forces, reflected in a steep decline in their own losses from 72 fatalities in October to 25 in November — a reduction of about 65 percent,” it said.
