ISLAMABAD: The year 2024 turned out to be the deadliest in a decade for Pakistan’s civil and military security forces with at least 685 casualties and 444 terrorist attacks. This was stated in the “CRSS Annual Security Report 2024” released by the Center for Security and Strategic Affairs. study.
According to the report, the overall loss of civilians and security personnel was equally alarming, with 1,612 deaths, more than 63 percent of the total recorded this year, compared to 934 illegal killings. There are disadvantages.
Total fatalities recorded this year were a 9-year high and 66 percent higher than in 2023. On average, nearly seven lives were lost per day, with November emerging as the deadliest month in all metrics compared to all other months of the year.
The violence took the highest toll in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 1,616 deaths, followed by Balochistan with 782 deaths. In 2024, violence in Pakistan claimed 2,546 lives and injured 2,267 civilians, security personnel and illegals. The death toll came from 1,166 incidents of terrorist attacks and counter-terrorism operations, marking a grim year for the country’s security landscape.
Compared to 2023, these figures indicate a more than 66 percent increase in violence (2,546 vs. 1,533 deaths), 55 percent more injuries (2,267 vs. 1,462) and nearly 49 percent more incidents (1,166 vs. 784).
Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan accounted for 94% of all deaths and 89% of all cases across the country. While KP recorded the highest number of deaths this year (over 63%), followed by Balochistan (31%). ), which is the highest increase in violence, compared to last year, however, was recorded in the latter province (90 percent), followed by the former (65 percent), and it was 260 percent in Islamabad. The addition was ignored because In comparison, the number of casualties is very low (26).
November was the deadliest month in all metrics, recording the highest number of attacks (125), fatalities (450) and injuries (625) compared to any other month of the year. higher than 2016 levels (2,432) and the most since 2015 (4,366).
Additionally, data collected over the past 10 years show a sharp downward trend between 2015 and 2020, with deaths decreasing by an average of 33 percent each year. It started to pick up again in 2021 after a 6-year long decline and in fact an encouraging trend in Pakistan’s security landscape.
This is reflected in the fact that violence in Pakistan will continue to increase by 38% in 2021, 15% in 2022, 56% in 2023 and 66% in 2024 (an average annual increase in violence of around 44% from 2021).
The highest number of deaths related to violence and counter-violence were recorded in the newly merged districts of KP such as Kurram, North Waziristan, Khyber, while other districts of KP include Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu and Lakki Marwat.
After these districts, the districts of Balochistan include Quetta, Kech, Kalat and Musa Khel. Moreover, the deaths in these worst affected districts of Balochistan in 2024 alone were almost equal to the combined record of the previous three years (2021-2023). A similar trend was observed in the most affected districts of KP.
In 2024, an alarming disparity was observed between civilian and security personnel deaths and illegalities:
i) Against the elimination of 934 illegals, civilians and security personnel suffered 1612 casualties, which is about 73% more casualties than illegals. Their combined losses were more than 63 percent of all casualties, accounting for 37 percent of the total losses recorded that year.
ii) Terrorist attacks on security personnel and civilians are almost four times more than security operations against illegals, i.e. 909 terrorist attacks against 257 security operations.
In 2024, security forces personnel also faced the highest number of terrorist attacks and casualties in a decade – 444 terrorist attacks and 685 deaths. This number is higher than the level of 2015 where they had 298 attacks and 415 deaths, and is the highest since 2014 (543 terrorist attacks and 781 deaths).
The number of terrorist attacks against them and the resulting losses continued to decrease for six consecutive years from 2015 to 2020. From the beginning of 2021, both these metrics recorded a resurgence that continued every year for the period under review.
Historical data on militancy- and insurgency-related casualties indicate a sharp upward trend from 2021 onwards, similar to the previous trend in overall casualties. Deaths due to militant attacks – After 7 consecutive years (from 2014 to 2020) of continuous decline. An annual average of about 29pc, which increased every year. From 2021 to the period under review, an average of 38 percent.
The downward trend in insurgency from 2014 also reversed sharply in 2022, with violence increasing by 38 percent in 2022, 118 percent in 2023, and 192 percent in 2024 (an average increase of 116 percent per year).
In 2024, 182 people were killed and 234 injured in communal violence. The majority of victims were Shias, with 79 killed and 35 wounded, followed by Sunnis, with 21 killed and 72 wounded.
As a result of the incident, 79 people were killed and 117 injured, belonging to both the Shia and Sunni communities. Additionally, the violence claimed the lives of two Ahmadis and one Christian.
Statistics on communal violence reveal a deeply disturbing trend, with 467 lives lost in communal violence between 2015 and 2020. Alarmingly, the number increased to 487 in the next four years (2021-2024), highlighting the growing nature of this threat and its growing impact on Pakistan’s security landscape.