Pakistan has recorded a 51 percent surge in terrorist attacks in the country since the Taliban seized control in August 2021, Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) reported Wednesday.
In their latest report, PIPS stated the “perils of Taliban-led regime in Kabul have become unmistakably clear for Pakistan as the country has witnessed an unbelievable 51 percent increase in the number of terrorist attacks in a single year since the militant group seized power in August last year.”
According to them, 433 people were killed and 719 wounded in 250 terrorist attacks in Pakistan between 15 August 2021 and 14 August 2022.
In the corresponding year, between15 August 2020 and 14 August 2021, the country witnessed 165 attacks that killed 294 people and injured 598 others, the report read.
The Islamabad-based think tank said the purpose of the study was to expand the knowledge base and awareness of key stakeholders on Pakistan’s Afghan perspective, and its role and interest in Afghan peace and reconciliation.
“The mindless jubilation over Taliban victory is now turning into a rude shock because the evolving security situation under the erratic Taliban rule indicates Pakistan is about to face yet another ordeal viz-a-viz terrorism,” the report stated.
The report also stated that “there is no sign that the Taliban regime is taking steps to limit the activities of foreign terrorist groups on Afghan soil.”
PIPS stated that foreign terrorist groups based in Afghanistan take the Taliban “victory” as a motivation to disseminate their propaganda in Central and South Asia, and globally.
Key terrorist groups with active presence in Afghanistan include Al-Qaeda, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Islamic State in Khorasan (Daesh), PIPS reported adding that so far, the Taliban have acted only against Daesh because it actively challenges the group.
“The issue underlines that there is a wave of fear and panic among residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) over the reported return of TTP militants from Afghanistan in recent months,” read the report.
