4 gün önce

Pakistan's security forces endure deadliest year in decade — think tank

In 2024, Pakistan faced its deadliest year in a decade for security forces, with 685 deaths and 444 terror attacks, according to the Center for Research and Security Studies.

AFP

Security officials prepare to offer prayers for slain police officers during a funeral following an assault on a police station in Dera Ismail Khan on February 5, 2024. / Photo: AFP

Pakistani security forces in 2024 suffered the highest casualties in nearly a decade while battling insurgency, an Islamabad-based think tank said.

This comes as terrorists attacked a security post in the country's restive northwest, which borders Afghanistan, killing a police officer and a civilian early Tuesday.

An officer was also wounded in the attack at the Draban Post in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local police official Abdullah Khan said, adding that the civilian was an employee of the Customs department.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion was likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, who often target security forces across the country, especially in the former tribal regions in the troubled northwest bordering Afghanistan.

The Center for Research and Security Studies said in its report Tuesday that this year was the deadliest for Pakistani security forces in 9 years.

Attack on security post in northwest Pakistan leaves 2 dead

Cumulative losses

“On average, nearly seven lives were lost daily,” according to the report which tallied “at least 685 fatalities and 444 terror attacks.” It also said: “Equally alarming were the cumulative losses of civilians and security personnel, i.e. 1612 fatalities, accounting for over 63 percent of the total recorded this year and marking 73 percent more losses compared to 934 outlaws eliminated.”

The think tank said its latest report was based on data collected from open sources, mainly media outlets. In Pakistan, the military doesn’t regularly confirm casualties among troops.

There was no immediate comment from the military on the report.

Last week, military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif said in a news conference that 925 insurgents were killed in 2024, a record high compared to the past five years, while 383 soldiers were killed in such operations. He also said Pakistani security forces this year conducted 59,775 operations against insurgents in the country.

Pakistan in recent months has stepped up intelligence-based operations against the Pakistani Taliban.