According to a recent report by Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace, Pakistan has shown marked improvement in the law and order situation. The improved law and order situation in terms of visible decrease in terror incidents and terror related deaths has been noticed for the past few years. The improvement is largely due to the large scale operations being undertook by the Pakistani military.
According to the report by Institute for Economics and Peace, in Pakistan the number of people killed in terrorist attacks fell to 956 last year, a reduction of 12 per cent as compared to the previous reporting year. This figure reflects the lowest number of deaths recorded since 2006. The report noted the reduction in terrorism fatalities is due to a significant drop in Pakistan Tehreek-i-Taliban’s activities. The terror group has been responsible for more than 4,500 killings since 2000 in the country.
However despite this year on improvement Pakistan was still among the 10 countries most affected by terrorism in 2016. The other countries on the list are Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, India, Turkey and Libya.
After the success of Operation Zarb-e-Azb the military launched the Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad across the country, earlier this year. The military started the operation with the aim to indiscriminately eliminate the “residual/latent threat of terrorism”, to consolidate the gains made in other military operations, and ensure the security of Pakistan’s borders.
Despite the marked improvement in terror related stats the country needs to remain vigilant to the threat of terrorism. In recent months there has been marked increase in terror incidents in Balochistan, the province still remains prone to terror attacks. In recent months law enforcement agencies have been repeatedly target in the provincial capital Quetta. How the civil and military leadership deals with the upsurge in terror attacks in Balochistan will be of pivotal importance.
In a recent visit to the province Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa had said that development of Balochistan was “extremely important” for the progress of Pakistan. The importance of peace in Balochistan cannot be emphasized any further than what the Army Chief said. For Pakistan’s long term stability and economic progress peace in Balochistan is imperative.