Militant, nationalist insurgent and violent sectarian groups carried out a total of 1,577 terrorist attacks across Pakistan in 2012, claiming the lives of 2,050 people and causing injuries to another 3,822. Over 61 percent (971) of these attacks were carried out by the so-called religiously motivated militant groups, mainly the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which caused the killing of 1,076 people and injuries to another 2,227. The Baloch and Sindhi nationalist insurgents carried out 404 attacks, killing 437 people and injuring 823 others. Meanwhile, 202 sectarian-related terrorist attacks, perpetrated by banned sectarian groups, and the TTP and groups affiliated with it claimed the lives of 537 people and caused injuries to 772 people.
Although the terrorists used diverse attack tactics to hit their targets across Pakistan, a considerable number of these attacks—587, or 37 percent—were incidents of targeted killings. As many as 177 incidents of politically motivated targeted killing were reported in 2012, which are not included in this figure. As many as 33 suicide attacks were also reported in 2012. Other significant attack tactics used by the terrorists in 2012 included improvised explosive devices (375 attacks), remote-controlled bomb blasts (139), rocket ...Read more>>
Education is a fundamental right of every Pakistani citizen. Also, it is a religious obligation of every Muslim. All political parties should prioritize education and should workout and implement with consensus......read more
Objective and analytic reporting can enhance awareness of human rights and significantly challenge pervasive impunity for perpetrators of violations in Pakistan, participants of a media training learned here....read more
The information explosion has lifted the role of journalists from traditional story tellers to analytical and investigative reporters who have the professional capacity and abilities to think critically...read more
As dynamics of conflicts in Pakistan vary from region to region, journalists and media persons should try to understand the local contexts of conflicts in order to report and analyze them objectively as well...read more
PIPS Annual Report 2012
Policy Briefs
Pakistan's Security Landscape
The security landscape of Pakistan remained volatile throughout the year of 2012 with frequent incidents of violence and terrorism reported across country. Although a downward trend in the number of overall incidents of violence and casualties that started in 2010 continued in 2011 and 2012, the number of sectarian-related terrorist attacks and clashes increased ... Read more>>
Sectarian Violence
Sectarian violence is among the critical threats to Pakistan’s internal security and stability. Besides sectarian-related attacks and targeted killings by violent sectarian groups, sectarian discrimination is also increasingly penetrating individuals’ attitudes and behaviors in Pakistan.
Despite the government’s repeated bans on sectarian groups, they are becoming more ... Read more>>
