Pak witnesses 24% increase in militant attacks in April: Think tank

Militants carried out 34 attacks in April, killing 55 people, including 34 security forces personnel: Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies

Pakistan has witnessed a 24 per cent increase in the number of militant attacks in April as compared to March 2022, according to data released by a think-tank.

Militants carried out 34 attacks in April, killing 55 people, including 34 security forces personnel. Thirteen civilians and eight militants were also killed in these attacks, while 25 people -- 11 security personnel and 14 civilians -- were injured, Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) said in a press release on Wednesday.

Militants carried out 26 attacks across Pakistan in March 2022 in which 115 people were killed and 288 others injured.

Most of the attacks took place in erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) or tribal region followed by main Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, the release said.

PICSS recorded 16 militant attacks in erstwhile Fata in which 31 people -- 21 security personnel, seven militants and three civilians -- were killed. Six security personnel and four civilians were injured in these attacks.

In KP, militants carried out 10 attacks in which 12 security personnel and five civilians were killed. Three civilians and as many security personnel were injured in these attacks, the release said.

In Balochistan, four militant attacks left one security official and one civilian dead, while one security official and four civilians were injured. In Sindh, four militant attacks took place in which four civilians and one militant was killed. The attacks in Karachi also included the suicide bombing of a Chinese teachers' van at the University of Karachi.

In Punjab, no militant attack took place in April.

Meanwhile, security forces carried out 22 actions against militants in which 11 suspected terrorists were arrested and 27 others were killed. Most of the arrests took place in Punjab, according to the PICSS report.