According to the annual report 2018 of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), Pakistan has witnessed a decline of 21 per cent in terrorist incidents in 2018 as compared to 2017, The Express Tribune reported on April 8. “Islamabad and Punjab witnessed a decrease of 50 per cent in terrorism-related incidents, while Azad Kashmir 67 per cent. Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa witnessed 92 per cent reduction in terrorist incidents,” says the report. The report states the law and order situation was satisfactory in Punjab and Sindh while Islamabad, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan remained peaceful. Despite a reduction in terrorist incidents, Balochistan was the most affected province, it added.
Overall, a fall of 22 per cent in terrorist incidents occurred in Balochistan and the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The report reveals that 517 people were killed in terrorist incidents in 2018 of which 288 were from Balochistan. “Sindh witnessed a decline of 80 per cent in terrorist incidents in 2018 as compared to 2017 while Punjab and Islamabad saw a 50 per cent,” it added. Another 67% decline in terrorism-related incidents occurred in Azad Kashmir, said the report, adding that 138 people died in erstwhile FATA and 59 in K-P in terrorist incidents while the death toll of such incidents was 15 in Punjab, 10 in Sindh, five in Gilgit-Baltistan and one each in Azad Kashmir and Islamabad.