KARACHI: Pakistan has further improved its position on the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) in 2019 due to the ongoing counter-terrorism operations undertaken by Pakistan’s military.
According to GTI 2020 report, Pakistan has dropped two places to 7th in 2019 from 5th in 2018 on the GTI, indicating a significant improvement in the overall security situation of the country.
In 2019, Pakistan witnessed 279 terrorism incidents in which 300 people died and 654 people got injured, a 45 percent decline from the 543 deaths in 2018. It is also the lowest number of terrorism-related deaths Pakistan has reported since 2006.
Balochistan and KP were the most impacted provinces in 2019, accounting for 77 percent of terrorist attacks and 85 percent of deaths. Last year’s deadliest incident was reported in Hazar Ganji, Quetta, when a suicide bomber detonated at a market that left 20 dead.
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) emerged as the deadliest terrorist group in Pakistan as it was responsible for 73 out of 300 deaths reported last year. TTP was followed by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Hizb-ul-Ahrar (HuA) who claimed 21 and 20 lives respectively.
The report stated that the number of deaths and terrorist incidents in Pakistan have decreased by 87 after peaking in 2013. It is a direct outcome of the decision of the then federal government to implement the National Action Plan (NAP) in 2015 to crack down on militant strongholds.
