Punjab: Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2019

The year 2018 saw a remarkable reduction of 45pc in militant attacks in Pakistan, Dawn reported on January 2 quoting a study conducted by Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS). The PICSS study showed that the security situation significantly improved in the year as the number of attacks, resultant deaths as well as injuries declined by 45pc, 37pc and 49pc, respectively, compared to 2017. The number of suicide attacks also declined. According to a press release, militants carried out 229 attacks in different provinces in which 577 people were killed - 356 civilians, 152 security forces personnel and 67 militants. Besides, 959 people were injured, including 693 civilians and 261 security personnel. But the ratio of security forces’ casualties per attack significantly increased in 2018 compared to 2017. A consistent decline in militant attacks was noticed since the launch of Operation Zarb-i-Azb (‘Sword of the Prophet’, also ‘sharp and cutting’) in June 2014. The average militant attacks per month declined from 35 in 2017 to 19 in 2018. In 2014, it was 134 which dropped to 59 in 2015 and 42 in 2016. Average militant attacks per month decreased from 35 in 2017 to 19 in 2018, report says. Balochistan remained the most troubled province where the highest number of militant attacks (99), highest number of deaths (354) and highest number of injured (570) were recorded. Of the total attacks in the country, 61pc of the deaths and 59pc of the injuries took place in Balochistan. The second highest number of attacks (65) was recorded in the erstwhile FATA in which 107 people were killed and 150 injured. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 40 attacks were recorded in which 72 people were killed and 174 injured. As many as 14 attacks were reported from Sindh in which 21 people were killed and 20 injured. Punjab saw six militant attacks in which 18 people were killed and 42 injured. More footprints of the militants were observed in Gilgit-Baltistan than the previous years as four militant attacks were recorded in the area during the year in which five people were killed and three injured. At least 12 schools, mostly of girls, were destroyed in a single night in the Diamer District. In 2017, 23 suicide attacks had been recorded in the country. However, the number declined to 18 in 2018 in which 267 people were killed and 460 injured. Read less...

Sindh Police's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) have developed a technical team under its anti-terror wing that has started monitoring all digital platforms amid their growing use for “promotion of ideology of hatred, anti-state activism and militancy”, a senior official said on January 17, reports The Dawn. The fresh development from the Sindh Police came after a series of steps announced by the federal government and institutions, including Pakistan Telecommuni­cation Authority (PTA) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), where “the infiltration of anti-state elements and promoters of different ideologies which cannot be dubbed as pro-nationalism” have sparked concerns, necessitating immediate and strong measures. The FIA a few months ago allowed establishing of 15 cybercrime reporting centres in the country. Five of the centres will be opened in Punjab, three each in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), two in Balochistan and one each in Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan. The decision was taken in accordance with Section 51 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2015, which grants the government powers to take all necessary measures for the prevention of cybercrime. Read less...

Four persons, including a husband, wife and their teenage daughter were killed while their minor son received bullet wounds in an alleged shootout by Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), in Sahiwal District of Punjab on January 19, reports GeoTV. CTD personnel said they had killed a 'local commander', identified as Zeeshan of militant organisation Daesh/ Islamic State (IS) and three others in the operation. Read less...

A Police team raiding a gambling den at Mandi Sadiq Gunj in Bahawalnagar District of Punjab on January 20, was allegedly taken hostage by gamblers and their accomplices and later rescued by another Police contingent, reports The Dawn. According to Police sources, a Police team raided the house of one Sheikh Adnan in Mohallah Qasaban, Mandi Sadiq Gang, where a number of people were allegedly busy placing bets on the cricket match between Pakistan and South Africa. Police lodged a case against 37 identified gamblers, including two women and 60 unidentified suspects. Read less...

On January 20, CTD officials killed two more suspected terrorists, identified as Abdur Rehman and Kashif Langra in a shootout in Gujranwala District, reports Daily Times. The suspects allegedly belonged to a banned outfit and were gunned down in an exchange of fire, a CTD spokesperson said, claiming that the two men were accomplices of terrorist Zeeshan. The deceased were wanted for their involvement in attacks on Security Forces (SFs) and kidnapping of local and foreign citizens, he added. According to the anti-terror police department, the two alleged terrorists were residing in Zeeshan’s house in Lahore and fled when they heard the news of Zeeshan’s death. Read less...

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar promised to provide justice to the victims of Sahiwal incident once the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report is submitted to him, reports The News on January 22. Read less...