At least 341 terrorists were killed by the security agencies in various actions across the country during the first ten months of this year, the Parliament was told on Friday.
Also, at least 1,566 terrorism incidents occurred in the 10 months, with highest 948 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa followed by 532 in Balochistan, leading to a total of 924 deaths.
The Interior Ministry shared the details with the National Assembly in response to a question by lawmaker Hameed Hussain of Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen party of Shiite Muslims, who had sought details of actions to improve the law and order in the country.
According to Dawn, the ministry stated that there were 2,801 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) across the country between January to October 2024. “These operations resulted in the elimination of 341 terrorists, underscoring the effectiveness of proactive measures in dismantling terrorist networks and neutralising threats to national security,” the ministry stated.
The ministry also said that four more “terrorist organisations” — Zainabiyoun Brigade, Majeed Brigade, Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group and Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement — were proscribed in the 10 months, bringing the total to 82.
It added that 800 individuals were placed on the Fourth Schedule under the Anti-Terrorism Act as part of “vigilant monitoring of individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activities” with 400 from Punjab, 203 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 173 from Balochistan, 21 from Sindh and three from Gilgit-Baltistan.
Regarding countering terror financing, the ministry said 2,350 cases were registered with 2,466 individuals apprehended and 526 convicted and a total recovery of Rs 581.206 million.
While addressing a question on the reasons for the worsening law and order situation in the country, the ministry said at least 1,566 terrorism incidents occurred in the 10 months with 948 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 532 in Balochistan, 24 in Sindh, 10 in Punjab and two in the Islamabad Capital Territory.
The ministry said the incidents led to a total of 924 deaths and 2,121 injured persons.
“Of these, 573 were law enforcement agencies (LEAs), accounting for 62 per cent of total deaths, and 1,353 LEAs were injured, accounting for approximately 64 per cent of total injuries.
“Additionally, 351 civilians were killed and 768 others were injured. This data indicates that law enforcement agencies have been primarily targeted by terrorists across Pakistan during the last 10 months,” it was said.
The ministry explained that there was a “significant rise in terrorism incidents and evolving terrorism patterns have been consistently observed” since the Afghan Taliban’s August 2021 takeover of Kabul, particularly in the operations of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Baloch nationalist insurgency in Balochistan and ethno-nationalist violence in Sindh.
It added that the TTP had recently shifted its targets, and is now focusing more on military and law enforcement officers, as well as security installations and critical infrastructure, rather than targeting the civilian population.
The ministry also said that the unstable security environment in Afghanistan had facilitated the consolidation of various international terrorist organisations (ITOs), enhancing their presence, resources, and ability to project influence beyond Afghan borders. “The inaction and inability to decisively counter these ITOs have allowed them to pose an increasingly serious and transnational threat,” it added.
“The (TTP) is also involved in border infiltration, sending small groups of individuals to transport militants across the border from Afghanistan to Pakistan for subsequent terrorist activities.
“Recent terrorist incidents indicate a growing trend of Afghan nationals, previously involved in armed activities within Afghanistan, joining other terrorist groups such as the TTP to support their operations in Pakistan,” it added.
The interior ministry cautioned that terrorist groups posed a significant threat to Chinese development projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as evidenced by the growing number of attacks on individuals involved in these projects.
“These attacks reveal the terrorists’ determination to disrupt state-to-state relations by targeting the interests of one country within the territory of another,” it said.
Separately, the army said that the security forces killed 43 terrorists during extensive IBOs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan since 9 December, causing a major setback to Fitna-Al-Khwarij & other terrorist groups operating in Balochistan.
The term Khawarij is used for TTP rebels.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the army, said that on night December 12-13, security forces conducted an IBO in Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and killed six TTP terrorists, and added that since 9 December, 18 TTP militants have been killed in the province.
On Friday, the security forces, after an intense exchange of fire, successfully neutralised 10 terrorists in two separate IBOs conducted in Musa Khel and Panjgur districts of Balochistan, the ISPR said, adding that since December 9, as many as 25 terrorists have been killed in the province.
