Pakistan Taliban responsible for most terrorist attacks in erstwhile FATA in 2020: Report

A Pakistani think-tank on Sunday said that Taliban's local arm Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) played a vital role in pushing instability across  country in 2020. Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) in its report said that TTP and its affiliates were responsible for 67 terrorist attacks or about 46 percent of total reported attacks in 2020. As per report, most of se attacks happened in erstwhile FATA or Federally ministered Tribal Areas, which was merged with neighbouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in 2018. 

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report said that a total of 146 terrorist attacks took place across Pakistan in 2020, including three suicide bombings, ding it is a 36 percent decline from a year before. report ded that se attacks injured over 500 people and claimed a total of 220 lives, a decline of 38 percent from 2019. Out of 146 attacks, 95 were perpetrated by religiously-inspired militant groups, ar 44 by Baloch and Sindhi insurgents, and seven attacks were sectarian-related. 

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Khan's National Action Plan fails

PIPS report furr highlighted that National Action Plan introduced by Prime Minister Imran Khan's government to counter terrorism in country has t been fully successful. report said that more severe challenge of religious extremism continued in Pakistan, underlining growing number of mob attacks on mirity communities and ir places of worship. Last week, a group of people vandalised a Hindu temple in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after authorities gave permission to revate premises and also allowed its expansion. 

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According to PIPS, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa witnessed highest number of terrorist attacks for any one region of Pakistan, where 79 recorded terrorist attacks (31 in rth Waziristan alone) claimed 100 lives and injured at least 206 people. Balochistan remained second-worst affected region in Pakistan by terrorism with 42 reported attacks in 2020. People of Baloch are demanding an independent state, which has given birth to many militant groups in region, often blamed for se attacks, mostly on Pakistani Army. 

Cross-border attacks

PIPS furr claimed that a total of 125 cross-border attacks took place in Pakistan in 2020, ding most of which originated from India. "A total of 125 cross-border attacks took place in year 2020 from across Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan (11 attacks) and India (114). As many as 62 people lost ir lives in se attacks, a decrease of about 34 percent from year before; ar 222 were also injured. Those 62 Pakistani citizens killed in cross-border attacks included 42 civilians, 18 army officials, and two FC personnel," report said. 

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(Im Credit: AP/Inputs from ANI)