EASO
Pakistan
Security situation
Country of Origin
Information Report
October 2021

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Acknowledgements
EASO acknowledges as the drafter of this report:
Belgium, Centre for Documentation and Research (Cedoca) in the Office of theCommissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Person

The following departments and organisations have reviewed the report:
ACCORD - Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation
BAMF - Germany - Federal Office for Migration and Refugees
The Netherlands, Office for Country Information and Language Analysis, Ministry of Justice

It must be noted that the review carried out by the mentioned departments, experts ororganisations contributes to the overall quality of the report, but does not necessarily imply theirformal endorsement of the final report, which is the full responsibility of EASO.

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Contents
Acknowledgements................................................................................................................................. 3Contents .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Disclaimer................................................................................................................................................ 6
Glossary and Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... 7
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 12
Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 12
Defining the terms of reference ................................................................................................... 12
Quality control.............................................................................................................................. 12
Sources ............................................................................................................................................. 12
Structure and use of the report ........................................................................................................ 16
Map ....................................................................................................................................................... 18
1. General description of the security situation in Pakistan ................................................................. 19
1.1 Overview of conflicts in Pakistan ................................................................................................ 19
1.1.1 Background of militancy ...................................................................................................... 19
1.1.2 Ethnic and sectarian violence.............................................................................................. 20
1.1.3 Political developments ........................................................................................................ 21
1.1.4 International context........................................................................................................... 23
1.2 Actors in the conflict ................................................................................................................... 25
1.2.1 State forces.......................................................................................................................... 25
1.2.2 Armed groups ...................................................................................................................... 28
1.3 Recent security trends and armed confrontations..................................................................... 43
1.3.1 Security incidents ................................................................................................................ 43
1.3.2 Nature of security incidents ................................................................................................ 46
1.3.3 Impact of COVID-19 on the security situation .................................................................... 54
1.4 Impact of the violence on the civilian population ...................................................................... 55
1.4.1 Figures on casualties in 2020 .............................................................................................. 55
1.4.2 Figures on casualties 1 January 2021 - 31 July 2021 ........................................................... 57
1.4.3 Targets of attacks ................................................................................................................ 58
1.4.4 Effects of violent incidents on society in Pakistan .............................................................. 61
1.4.5 Internally Displaced Persons and refugees ......................................................................... 62
1.5 State ability to secure law and order.......................................................................................... 64
1.5.1 Security forces ..................................................................................................................... 64

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

1.5.2 Judiciary and legal system ................................................................................................... 67
1.5.3 Anti-Terrorism Acts and military courts .............................................................................. 68
1.5.4 Detention and death penalty .............................................................................................. 69
2. Security situation per region ............................................................................................................. 70
2.1 Geographical overview of the violence ...................................................................................... 70
2.1.1 Trends in regional violence ................................................................................................. 70
2.1.2 Regional comparison of violence-related casualties ........................................................... 72
2.2 Security trends per geographic subdivision................................................................................ 75
2.2.1 Punjab.................................................................................................................................. 75
2.2.2 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (including former FATA) ................................................................... 78
2.2.3 Balochistan .......................................................................................................................... 91
2.2.4 Sindh .................................................................................................................................... 97
2.2.5 Islamabad Capital Territory ............................................................................................... 100
2.2.6 Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan ..................................................................................... 102
Annex 1: Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 107
Annex 2: Terms of Reference .............................................................................................................. 149
Annex 3: Query list .............................................................................................................................. 150

5Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Disclaimer
This report was written according to the EASO COI Report Methodology (2019)1. The report is basedon carefully selected sources of information. All sources used are referenced.
The information contained in this report has been researched, evaluated and analysed with utmost
care. However, this document does not claim to be exhaustive. If a particular event, person ororganisation is not mentioned in the report, this does not mean that the event has not taken placeor that the person or organisation does not exist.
Furthermore, this report is not conclusive as to the determination or merit of any particularapplication for international protection. Terminology used should not be regarded as indicative of aparticular legal position.
‘Refugee’, ‘risk’ and similar terminology are used as generic terminology and not in the legal sense as
applied in the EU Asylum Acquis, the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the
Status of Refugees.
Neither EASO nor any person acting on its behalf may be held responsible for the use which may bemade of the information contained in this report.
The drafting of this report was finalised on 13 August 2021. Some additional information was added
during the finalisation of this report in response to feedback received during the quality control
process, until 17 September 2021. More information on the reference period for this report can befound in the methodology section of the Introduction.

1 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information (COI) Report Methodology, June 2019, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Glossary and Abbreviations
AJK/AK

Azad Jammu and Kashmir/ Azad Kashmir

ANF

Anti-Narcotics Force

ANP

Awami National Party

AQIS

Al-Qaeda on the Indian Peninsula

ASWJ

Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat

BRP

Baloch Republican Party

BLA

Balochistan Liberation Army

BLF

Baloch Liberation Front

BRA

Baloch Republican Army

BRAS

Baloch Raji Aajoi Sangar

COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019

CPEC

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

CRPF

Central Reserve Police Force (India)

CTD

Counterterrorism Department

Daesh

See Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP)

Deobandi

A conservative Sunni religious movement2

FATA

Federally Administered Tribal Areas

FC

Frontier Corps

FWO

Frontier Works Organization

GB

Gilgit-Baltistan

Haqqani network

Armed insurgent movement led by Sirajuddin Haqqani. This movement
is affiliated with the Taliban. Their headquarters are based in North
Waziristan tribal district and in south-east Afghanistan, in areas of the
Pashtun tribe of the Zadran.3

HazaraEthnic (primarily) Shia Muslim minority group living predominantly incentral Afghanistan, western and northern Pakistan and parts of Iran4

HBC

Higher Border Commission

HM

Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, militant group operating in Azad Jammu andKashmir, led by Syed Salahuddin5

HuA

Hizbul Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the JuA6HCNRHigh Council of National Reconciliation, Afghanistan

2 Nelson, M., EASO, EASO COI Meeting Report: Pakistan; 16-17 October 2017, Rome, February 2018, url, pp. 9, 27
3 Stanford University, Mapping Militant Organizations. “Haqqani Network.”, last updated: July 2018, url
4 BBC News, Pakistan Hazara minority protests after bombing in Quetta, 13 April 2019, url
5 Al Jazeera, Explainer: Who are Kashmir's armed groups?, 3 March 2019, url
6 Dawn, Taliban splinter group splits further, 13 November 2017, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

IBOIntelligence-Based Operation

ICT

Islamabad Capital Territory

IDP

Internally Displaced Person: person or groups of persons who havebeen forced or obliged to flee or leave their homes or places ofhabitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid theeffects of armed conflict, situations of generalised violence, violationsof human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who havenot crossed an internationally recognised state border7

IJU

Islamic Jihad Union

IED

Improvised Explosive Device

IMU

Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan: an armed insurgent movement
operating in Afghanistan and other countries with fighters originallyfrom Uzbekistan8

ISKP

Islamic State Khorasan Province, also called ISIS, ISIL, IS or Daesh

ISPP

Islamic State Pakistan Province

ISIInter-Services Intelligence, one of the intelligence agencies of Pakistan,
generally considered to be one of the most powerful Pakistani state
institutions

ISPR

Inter-Services Public Relations, media wing of the Pakistani Army

Jamaat-ul Ansar AlSharia

An umbrella organisation of Islamist armed insurgent organisations
uniting with the aim of reintroducing a platform to reintroduce alQaeda9

JuA

Jamaat-ul Ahrar (Assembly of the Free), splinter faction of the Tehrik-e
Taliban Pakistan formed in August 2014 and based in Mohmand tribal
district (former FATA)10

JeM

Jaish-e-Muhammad (Muhammad’s Army), Islamist armed insurgent
group active in Kashmir11

Jundullah

Soldiers of Allah, a group linked to the TTP and IS12

JSMM

Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz

JST

Jeay Sindh Tehreek

JSQM-A

Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz-Aresar

Khassadar

Tribal militia, institutionalised by the British. In recent times, they havebeen made responsible for security in Pashtun areas, and receive asalary by the Pakistani authorities.13

7 UNOCHA, Guiding principles on Internal Displacement, September 2004, url
8 Stanford University, Mapping Militant Organizations. “Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.”, last updated: August 2018, url
9 Zahid, F., Jamaat ul Ansar al-Sharia: The New al-Qaeda Threat in Pakistan, Terrorism Monitor, Volume: 15 Issue: 18, 22

September 2017, url; Zahid, F., The Return of Al-Qaeda to Pakistan, Middle East Institute, 24 August 2017, url
10 Jeffery, F., Documenting: Jihadist groups operating in Afghanistan, 2 June 2019, Aurora Intel, url
11 Zahid, F., Profile of Jaish-e-Muhammad and Leader Masood Azhar, April 2019, Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses,
url, pp. 1-5
12 Reuters, Pakistan Taliban splinter group vows allegiance to Islamic State, 18 November 2014, url
13 Express Tribune (The), Khasadar force personnel deprived of salaries, 28 May 2016, url; TNN, Pro-merger people should
now raise their voice for Khassadars’, 14 August 2018, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Khyber-IV

Operation launched by the Pakistani army on 16 July 2017 aimed atclearing Rajgal Valley in Khyber Agency of militants14

KP15

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including former FATA

KPTDs

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts

Lashkars

Pashtun tribal armies or militias that can be mobilised via traditional
tribal decision mechanisms16

LB

Lashkar-e Balochistan

LeI

Lashkar-e Islam, a militant Sunni group with a sectarian agenda formed
in 2004 under Mufti Shakir.17 In 2015, Lashkar-e Islam announced that
it was joining Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan.18

LeJ

Lashkar-e Jhangvi, an armed Sunni militant group with a sectarian
agenda in Pakistan formed in 1996. The group has carried out anumber of attacks on minority groups in Pakistan and aims at
establishing a Sunni caliphate.19

LeT

Lashkar-e Taiba, a Sunni militant group, formed in 1990 and initiallytrained in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan. LeT fights for theunification of the Kashmir region and its integration into Pakistani
territory and also attacks civilian targets in Afghanistan.20

LoC

Line of Control, disputed borderline between India and Pakistan in theregions of Jammu and Kashmir.

LJA

Lashkar-e Jhangvi Al-Alami, a faction of Lashkar-e Jhangvi21

LWJ

Long War Journal

Madrassa

Islamic school

MQM-P

Muttahadi Qaumi Movement- Pakistan

NACTA

National Counter Terrorism Authority

NADRA

National Database & Registration Authority

NAP

National Action Plan, Pakistan government plan to eliminate
terrorism22

NCA

National Command Authority

NICC

National Intelligence Coordination Committee

NDS

National Directorate of Security, the Afghan intelligence agency

14 Dawn, Army launches Operation Khyber-4 in Rajgal Valley, 16 July 2017, url
15 In this report KP refers to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the exception in the abbreviation ISKP where KP means Khorasan

Province
16 Dawn, Death by lashkar: The forgotten protectors of Adezai village, 9 May 2016, url
17 Dawn, Pakistan bans 25 militant organisations, 6 August 2009, url; Express Tribune (The), List of banned organisations inPakistan, 24 October 2012, url
18 LWJ, 3 jihadist groups merge with Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, 6 May 2015, url
19 USDOS, Country Report on Terrorism 2019, 24 June 2020, url, pp. 283-284
20 Stanford University, Mapping Militant Organizations. “Lashkar-e-Taiba.”, last updated: June 2018, url
21 Jamestown Foundation (The), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami: A Pakistani Partner for Islamic State, 27 January 2017, url
22 Express Tribune (The), Fight against terrorism: Defining moment, 25 December 2014, url

9Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

NWFP

North West Frontier Province, the former name for Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa

PDMA

Provincial Disaster Management Authority

Peace Committee

Often called Aman Jirgas. Members are appointed by the military or
police in order to deal with security issues and to bring peace in an
area, with the government giving them authority for out-of-court
arbitration.23

PoR

Proof of Registration card: administrative document issued toregistered Afghan refugees in Pakistan24

PPAC

Prime Minister’s Prisoners Reforms Committee

PPP

Pakistan People’s Party

PTI

Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf

PTM

Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, or Pashtun Protection Movement, agrassroots Pashtun civil rights movement25

Radd-ul Fasaad

Code name for a military operation launched by the Pakistani army on
22 February 201726

Razakar

Pro-government tribal militia27

RAW

Research and Analysis Wing, India's main intelligence agency

SDLA

Sindhudesh Liberation Army

SDLF

Sindhu Desh Liberation Front

SDRA

Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army

SMP

Sipah-e Mohammed Pakistan, a Shia militant group28

SSP

Sipah-e Sahaba Pakistan (Army of the Prophet Followers), a former
political party following the Deobandi school in Islam29

TLP

Tehreek-e Labbaik Pakistan

TNN

Tribal News Network

TTP

Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, (Pakistan Movement of Taliban), the largest
militant group in Pakistan. The organisation was founded in 2007 andis an umbrella of mostly, but not all, Pakistani Taliban groups. TTP had
pledged allegiance to Mullah Omar, in 2007 the leader of the Taliban in
Afghanistan. The main goal behind TTP's establishment was to unite
the various factions of the Pakistan Taliban in order to organise
synchronised attacks on NATO/ISAF forces in Afghanistan. The group

23 Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium, The role of local institutions in conflict affected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan,

September 2017, url, p. 12
24 UNHCR, UNHCR welcomes Pakistan cabinet’s decision to extend stay of Afghan refugees, 28 June 2019, url
25 BBC News, Manzoor Pashteen: The young tribesman rattling Pakistan's army, 23 April 2018, url
26 Dawn, Pakistan Army launches 'Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad' across the country, 21 June 2017, url
27 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2019, 9 January 2020, url, p. 10
28 Nelson M., EASO, EASO COI Meeting Report: Pakistan; 16-17 October 2017, Rome, February 2018, url, pp. 31-32
29 Nelson, M., EASO, EASO COI Meeting Report: Pakistan; 16-17 October 2017, Rome, February 2018, url, p. 30

10Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

also carries out ‘defensive jihad’ against Pakistani military forces
conducting operations in former FATA.30
UBA

United Baloch Army

Zakat

Religious alms

30 USIP, The Evolution and Potential Resurgence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, May 2021, url, p. 4

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Introduction
This report aims to provide information on the security situation in Pakistan, which is relevant for
the assessment of international protection status determination, including refugee status andsubsidiary protection.
This report was drafted by a Country of Origin Information (COI) specialist from Cedoca, the Belgian
COI unit, as referred to in the Acknowledgements section.

Methodology
This report is an update of the EASO COI report on Pakistan, Security Situation, October 2020.31 The
reference period for the events described in this report is from 1 August 2020 until 31 July 2021.
However, to allow a better comparison with 2020, for data on violent incidents and civilian
casualties, the timeframe is between 1 January 2020 until 31 December 2020 and 1 January 2021
until 31 July 2021.
This report is produced in line with the EASO COI Report Methodology (2019)32 and the EASO COI
Writing and Referencing Style Guide (2019).33

Defining the terms of reference
For the terms of reference of this report, EASO and the COI Specialist Network on Pakistan provided
input to Cedoca. Cedoca defined the terms of reference taking into account this input. The terms ofreference can be found in Annex 2 of this report.

Quality control
In order to ensure that the drafter respected the EASO COI Report Methodology, a review was
carried out by COI specialists from the countries and organisations listed as reviewers in the
Acknowledgements section. This quality process led to the inclusion of some additional information,
in response to feedback received during the respective reviews, until 17 September 2021. Allcomments made by the reviewers were taken into consideration and most of them were
implemented in the final draft of this report.

Sources
The information in this report results from desk research of public specialised paper-based andelectronic sources, which were consulted within the time frame and the scope of the research. In
addition, the Cedoca researcher, a specialist on Pakistan, sent a query on 7 June 2021 to thefollowing experts. Each of them responded by email within the reference period of this report:••

An academic expert on terrorism in South Asia, email, 22 July 2021.
Abdul Basit, email, 29 July 2021. Abdul Basit is an independent Associate Research
Fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore. He has written

31 EASO COI reports are available via EASO’s website: url
32 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information (COI) Report Methodology, June 2019, url
33 EASO, Writing and Referencing Guide for EASO Country of Origin Information (COI) Reports, June 2019, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation•••

extensively in reputed academic journals such as the Perspectives on Terrorism andmainstream Pakistani English dailies on security in Pakistan.
Fahad Nabeel, email, 4 August 2021. Fahad Nabeel is a Pakistani independent researcher
on militancy and cybersecurity. His area of expertise covers the geopolitical issues andmilitary trends of South Asia.
Kiyya Baloch, email, 12 July 2021. Kiyya Baloch is a freelance Pakistani journalist
currently based in Norway.
Mansur Khan Mahsud, email, 11 June 2021. Mansur Khan Mahsud is the Executive
Director of FATA Research Center (FRC).

The query list sent to the aforementioned experts can be found in Annex 3 of this report.
This report relies extensively on data about security incidents and casualties provided by different
institutions, which was either published in reports available on their websites or was provided byemail to Cedoca.34 Data on the security incidents provided by Pakistani institutes such as the
Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS),FATA Research Centre (FRC) and also the publicly available curated dataset on South Asia from theArmed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) was used. For civilian casualties, the main
sources used are the publications by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS). Where
possible, data on casualties provided by PICSS, PIPS and FRC was also used.
The following descriptions of their respective methodologies are based on each institution’s own
reports or websites.
The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) is an independent research think-tankbased in Islamabad. PICSS collects statistical data regarding Pakistan-specific anti-state
violence.35 PICSS publishes annual security reports and divides incidents of violence mainly in two
categories: 1. ‘violent militant attacks’ and ‘Security Forces Actions’. Sectarian violence, generalcrimes, ethnic or language-based violence are not recorded. The data collected is based on open
sources such as newspapers, government sources and own correspondents. PICSS defines violent
militant attacks as follows: ‘a. Militant Attacks against government, public, or private targets. Thesetargets can be against life or property e.g. government installations such as gas pipelines, electricity
transmission lines etc., b. Militant clashes among different militant groups.’36
The Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), established in Islamabad, was founded in January 2006.
One of the founding members is Muhammad Amir Rana, a security and political analyst.37 PIPS
monitors relevant incidents in Pakistan on a daily basis, from sources such as correspondents in the
different regions, newspapers, magazines, journals and television news channels. The information isgathered in the PIPS conflict/security database and archives which form the base for their annual
and monthly reports.38 PIPS divides ‘attacks’ into five categories:‘(i) terrorist attacks, including militant attacks, nationalist insurgent attacks and sectarianrelated attacks;39(ii) incidents of ethno-political violence;(iii) cross-border attacks;(iv) drone attacks; and34 PIPS, PICSS and FRC provided data by email to Cedoca. Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021

courtesy of PICSS; Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS; Khan Mahsud,M., email, 6 August 2021 data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of FRC
35 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. ii
36 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, pp. iii-iv
37 PIPS, PIPS Team, n.d., url
38 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 7
39 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 7-8

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation(v) operational attacks by security forces against militants’.40
PIPS defines ‘casualties’ as follows: ‘casualties include both the number of people killed andinjured’.41
The FATA Research Centre (FRC) is a private and apolitical research organisation based in Islamabadand established in 2009. FRC provides only information on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts(KPTDs) previously known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan.42 The datacollected by FRC is based on sources such as newspapers, government sources and own
correspondents in all seven KPTDs. FRC mentions that their research contains certain limitations
since the area is undergoing counter-insurgency operations and curfews.43 FRC defines ‘terrorist
attacks’ as follows: ‘Indiscriminate use of violence by local, non-local, and foreign terrorist outfits’.44
The Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) is a Pakistani research institute that analyses
politics and security in the country. Executive Director, Imtiaz Gul, founded CRSS in December
2007.45 CRSS publishes annually a report on the security situation in Pakistan and also quarterly
reports.46 CRSS uses open sources such as national printed and electronic media.47 The reports
mainly contain statistical data on violence-related casualties.48
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) is a project collecting, analysing andmapping information on crisis and conflict in Africa, south and south-east Asia, the Middle East, East
Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Latin America and others and also provides datasets on conflict
incidents.49 As ACLED points out, the reader should, however, be aware of some limitations in thedata. These limitations are:‘the first is that most of the data is gathered based on publicly available, secondary reports.
This means that the data is in part a reflection of the coverage and reporting priorities of
media and international organisations. One of the effects of this is that it may underestimate the volume of events of non-strategic importance (for example, low-levelcommunal conflict, or events in very isolated areas). We work to address this possibility bytriangulating data sources to include humanitarian and international organisation reports,
rather than media alone; and by conducting ground-truthing exercises in which we present
data to local organisations and partners to assess its validity among people working directlyin conflict-affected contexts.’50
Therefore, ACLED's figures in this report are to be considered as an estimate and indication of trends
in violence over a given period of time.
ACLED codes security incidents as follows:•

Battles: violent clashes between at least two armed groups. ‘Battles can occur between
armed and organised state, non-state, and external groups, and in any combination therein.

40 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 7-8
41 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 8
42 FRC, About Us, n.d., url; FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 1
43 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. iii
44 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. iv
45 Imtiaz Gul Official Website, Biography, n.d., url
46 For example: CRSS, CRSS Annual Security Report Special Edition 2013 – 2018, March 2019, url; CRSS, Annual Security

Report 2019, 28 January 2020, url; CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security
Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
47 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 4
48 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url
49 ACLED, About Acled, n.d., url; For more information on ACLED methodology, see ACLED Codebook, url
50 ACLED, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) Guide for Media Users, January 2015, url, pp. 9-10

14Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Sub-events of battles are armed clashes, government regains territory and non-state actor
overtakes territory.’•

Violence against civilians: violent events where an organised armed group deliberately
inflicts violence upon unarmed non-combatants. It includes violent attacks on unarmed
civilians such as sexual violence, attacks, abduction/forced disappearance.’•

Explosions/remote violence: events where an explosion, bomb or other explosive device
was used to engage in conflict. They include one-sided violent events in which the tool for
engaging in conflict creates asymmetry by taking away the ability of the target to engage ordefend themselves and their location. They include air/drone strikes, suicide bombs,
shelling/artillery/missile attack, remote explosive/landmine/IED, grenade, chemical weapon.

•

Riots: are a violent demonstration, often involving a spontaneous action by unorganised,unaffiliated members of society. They include violent demonstration, mob violence.

•Protests: ‘public demonstration in which the participants do not engage in violence, thoughviolence may be used against them. It includes peaceful protests, protest with intervention,
excessive force against protesters.’•

Strategic developments: information regarding the activities of violent groups that is notitself recorded as political violence, yet may trigger future events or contribute to political
dynamics within and across states. Among others it includes agreements, change togroup/activity, non-violent transfer of territory, arrests.51

Data on violent incidents reported in Chapter 2 of this report is based on Cedoca analysis of ACLED
public data extracted on 3 September 2021. For the purpose of this report,52 only the following typeof events were included in the analysis of the security situation in Pakistan: battles,
explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians. The ACLED data and maps derived fromsuch data, used in this report refer to the timeframe between 1 January 2020 and
31 December 2020 and 1 January 2021 until 31 July 2021 (based on the ACLED curated dataset forSouth Asia-updated until 3 September 2021).53
Because of the use of a different methodology and terminology by each institution, the data on
security incidents and casualties can differ between the institutions. For example, while PIPS records‘terrorist attacks’, PICSS records militant attacks. Therefore, chapters 1.4.1 Figures on civilian
fatalities and 1.4.2 Figures on casualties 1 January 2021 - 31 July 2021 present data from thedifferent sources separately to allow comparison and a clearer understanding of the situation.
On Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Pakistan, information collected from the United Nations
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Pakistan and information collectedby the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) was used.54 These IDP data iscomplemented with anecdotal information on IDP movements in or from the provinces andinformation on the causes. This information comes mainly from media sources.
In the regional description, a government source was used to describe the population figures in theadministrative divisions.55 This source was used because it provides the most recent population

51 ACLED, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) Codebook, October 2017, url, pp. 7-14
52 Fatalities collected by ACLED were not used in this report
53 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;

Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2020-31 July 2021), update 3
September 2021, url
54 UNOCHA Pakistan, email, 9 July 2020; IDMC, GRID 2021 Global Report on Internal Displacement, May 2021, url
55 Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Final Results Census-2017 - National, 19 May 2021, url; Pakistan, Pakistan Bureauof Statistics, Final Results Census-2017 - District Tables FATA, 19 May 2021, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

figures in Pakistan. Some sources casted doubts about the results of the 2017 census.56 The definite
census figures of 2017 were published in May 2021.57
Due to the deteriorating situation for journalists in Pakistan, several sources mentioned difficulties
on reporting concerning the security situation. In an interview via email on 12 July 2021, Pakistani
journalist, Kiyya Baloch stated the following:‘Recent persecution of journalists covering security, human rights, and politics has seriously
impacted journalism in Pakistan. In the past year, the country’s powerful military andintelligence agencies have restricted access for media and human rights monitors to conflictareas, such as Balochistan, rural Sindh, and KP. However, in recent times the authorities
have prosecuted journalists across the country, especially in Islamabad, for reporting on
military intervention in politics and persecuting journalists for simply doing their job. Federal
Investigation Agency (FIA) has initiated criminal proceedings against journalists, bloggers,
and social media activists for exercising the right to freedom of expression. In May,
Pakistan’s most-watched television talk show Capital Talk’s host, Hamid Mir, was taken off
air just days after speaking out against the country’s military at a protest against an attack
on a fellow journalist in Islamabad. This has raised severe fear among little-known journalists
covering security, militancy, and human rights in less urbanized cities, who believe thatwhen prominent journalists such as Hamid Mir are not spared how they can be. Following an
unprecedented number of attacks against prominent journalists in big cities like Islamabad,
Lahore, and Karachi, little-known journalists, including prominent television hosts, live underfear who have largely given up doing stories considered critical to the military and civilian
government.’58
Fahad Nabeel stated via email on 4 August 2021 the following:‘Generally, reporting on the security situation in Pakistan has brought a number ofchallenges for journalists. From limited or no access to areas encountering deteriorated
security situation to facing life threats from militant groups and their sympathizers,
journalists and media workers have no safety net to rely upon in case things went south andoften have to risk their lives in covering stories related to security situation.’59
In an interview via email on 11 June 2021, the Executive Director of FRC, Mansur Khan Mahsud
wrote the following on the difficulties experienced in the KPTDs:‘For journalists working in former districts of FATA was always difficult and risky but after
the outbreak of COVID-19 it is almost impossible for journalists to freely work in South andNorth Waziristan tribal districts. But in the rest of the five districts of FATA journalists are
not facing to many problems like in South and North Waziristan districts.’60

Structure and use of the report
This report provides information on elements and indicators that may help in assessing the need forinternational protection. In the first part a general description is given on the security situation in
Pakistan. The second part explains the security situation per province in more detail. The provincial
chapters in this report have the following structure: a general description of the province contains

56 Daily Pakistan, Mustafa Kamal challenges census 2017 results in SC, 25 April 2018, url; Express Tribune (The), Census

2017: FATA lawmakers dispute census count, 26 August 2017, url; Dawn, Opposition parties suspicious of census results, 27
August 2017, url
57 Dawn, Pakistan’s population is 207.68m, shows 2017 census result, 19 May 2021, url
58 Baloch, K., email, 12 July 2021
59 Nabeel, F., email, 4 August 2021
60 Mahsud Khan, M., email, 11 June 2021

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

information on the geography and population; the conflict background takes a longer term look at
the security situation in a province, including the armed actors active in the province. A section on
recent trends in the security situation describes the nature of the violence, targets, locations, andcasualties within the timeframe from 1 August 2020 – 31 July 2021. Finally, conflict-induced
displacements are described in a separate section. Recent security incidents described in subsections should be read as illustrations of trends in the security situation and not as an exhaustive
list of incidents. Both the general and regional descriptions provide information from various sourceson the relevant elements and indicators. Information on an indicator as such should never be taken
as conclusive, but as indicative for the assessment of protection needs, and should be read in
conjunction with other indicators and information on the region.
Administrative divisions
The description of the security situation uses the following administrative divisions:•••

The four provinces: Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan61 and Sindh;
Islamabad Capital Territory;
The two administrative regions: Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.62

On 28 May 2018, the former President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain signed the FATA Interim
Governance Regulation (2018) which will govern FATA until it merges with KP by 2020.63 EASO opted
to follow the administrative divisions used by UNOCHA, as they produce very clear maps and use thesame division systematically in all their publications.64 In this report, following UNOCHA’s
administrative division, former FATA is described in the section of the province of KP (see Map 1). In
this report, the new names of the KPTDs for each of the former tribal agencies in FATA are used.65
For a better understanding of these tribal districts and because of their impact on the security
situation, the KP tribal districts are described in general terms and then in more detail in the relevant
chapter (see 2.2.2 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (including former FATA)).

61 Balochistan refers to the Pakistani province of Baluchistan (see Map 1)
62 Map 1: the two regions are situated in the north of Pakistan. On Map 1, they are indicated in the grey area in the northof Pakistan
63 Dawn, President signs KP-Fata merger bill into law, 31 May 2018, url; RFE/RL, Pakistani Tribal Areas Face Long Road To
Stabilization, 28 May 2018, url
64 All their relevant maps can be found at: UNOCHA, Humanitarian Response, Maps/Infographics, url
65 Express Tribune (The), Tribal areas re-designated as districts, sub-divisions, 12 June 2018, url; Express Tribune (The),
Notification issued for composition of new administrative divisions in Mohmand, Khyber, 20 July 2018, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Map

Map 1: Pakistan-Overview © UNOCHA66

66

UNOCHA, Pakistan-Overview map [map], 3 December 2018, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

1. General description of the security
situation in Pakistan
1.1 Overview of conflicts in Pakistan
1.1.1 Background of militancy
During the Afghan war in the 1980’s, Pakistan supported the mujahideen against the Soviet
occupation in Afghanistan.67 By 2001, the Taliban controlled most of the Afghan territory. At the endof 2001, as a consequence of the attacks on 11 September 2001 in the United States (US), they were
ousted by a US-led military operation.68 Pakistan had the side of the US against the Taliban regime in
Afghanistan.69 After the US invasion in Afghanistan, thousands of Afghan Taliban and al-Qaeda
militants crossed the border ‘looking for safe havens’ in the former Federally Administered Tribal
Areas (FATA), and in parts of the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan.70 Under
their influence, several Pakistani groups with a similar ideology continued working together. Taliban
policies included a strict application of conservative Islamic principles and resulted in violenceagainst civilians and later the Pakistani authorities.71 Previously, Pakistan supported the mujahideen,
and when in 2001 they allied with the US, Pakistan had to relinquish their support for some Islamistgroups.72
In 2004, the Pakistan military carried out its first military operation in South Waziristan against
militants, which evoked the start of multiple military operations in the former FATA.73 In thistimeframe, the Pakistani Taliban (also known as the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, TTP, see chapter 1.2.2
Armed groups) started to emerge out of a decentralized network of different militant groups informer FATA under own leadership and clashed with the existing system of political structures
there.74 In December 2007, the TTP emerged [as a loosely tied umbrella organization] under theleadership of Baitullah Mehsud, a militant leader from South Waziristan.75 Violence began toescalate in 2007 in Pakistan, as tribal area-based fighters started to intensify attacks against army
and government targets.76 Since 2007, the Pakistani security forces have carried out several military
operations in the tribal districts aimed at breaking the power of the Pakistani Taliban and theiraffiliated organisations.77 Military operations against the Pakistani Taliban have been one of themain sources of insecurity, causing a large-scale displacement in the north-west of Pakistan.78
Pakistan’s efforts to negotiate a peace agreement in early 2014 with the Pakistani Taliban were
unsuccessful.79 The negotiations collapsed in the beginning of June 2014, when militants attacked

67 Deutsche Welle, What is Pakistan's militancy issue all about?, 1 December 2017, url
68 CFR, The Taliban in Afghanistan, last updated: 15 March 2021, url
69 Deutsche Welle, What is Pakistan's militancy issue all about?, 1 December 2017, url
70 USIP, The Evolution and Potential Resurgence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, May 2021, url, p. 4
71 Rashid, A., Descent into Chaos, 2008, pp. 265-270; AI, As if hell fell on me, the human rights crisis in northwest Pakistan,

10 June 2010, url, pp. 10-11
72 Deutsche Welle, What is Pakistan's militancy issue all about?, 1 December 2017, url
73 Semple, M., The Pakistan Taliban Movement: An Appraisal, November 2014, url, p. 5
74 USIP, The Evolution and Potential Resurgence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, May 2021, url, p. 5
75 USIP, The Evolution and Potential Resurgence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, May 2021, url, p. 5
76 Semple, M., The Pakistan Taliban Movement: An Appraisal, November 2014, url, p. 5
77 Al Jazeera, Pakistan military warns Pashtun rights group its 'time is up', 30 April 2019, url
78 ECHO, Pakistan-Factsheet, last updated: 31 March 2021, url
79 Deutsche Welle, Are Pakistan's talks with the Taliban bound to fail?, 7 February 2014, url; Guardian (The), Pakistani
Taliban claim Karachi attack and leave peace talks in crisis, 9 June 2014, url; Farooq, T., Lucas, S. and Wolff, S., Predators
and Peace: Explaining the Failure of the Pakistani Conflict Settlement Process in 2013-4, 10 January 2020, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

the international airport in Karachi.80 On 15 June 2014, the Pakistani government launched a military
offensive code-named Zarb-e Azb against militant strongholds in North Waziristan.81 On
25 December 2014, after consultation with different political parties, former Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif announced a 20-point comprehensive plan of action - the National Action Plan (NAP) - in order
to confront the insurgent threat. The plan encompassed the establishment of special courts for the
speedy trial of ‘terror suspects’, and a moratorium on capital punishment was revoked, after being
instated earlier in December 2014. The plan furthermore stipulated the deployment of 5 000 strong
counterterrorism forces across the country. Under the plan, ‘no armed militias would be allowed tofunction in the country’ and the funding of terrorist organisations would be ‘choked’. The plan also
envisaged combatting hate speech.82
Despite the Pakistani military efforts, militant groups continued to carry out large-scale attacks inthe country.83 In response to these attacks, on 22 February 2017, the government of Pakistan
announced a countrywide military operation code-named Radd-Ul Fasaad.84 As stated by New
America in 2020, the number of attacks and casualties have declined since 2017.85 Since the summerof 2020, reports are claiming the regrouping of the TTP86 and ‘a silent come back in the tribal
districts bordering Afghanistan’.87 According to the Diplomat, during 2020, the Pakistani government
conducted secret peace negotiations with the TTP, facilitated by the Haqqani Network that is part of
the Afghan Taliban and is supposed to have close ties to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI),
but either in late December 2020 or early January 2021 the talks failed without result.88
In addition, the changing situation in Afghanistan amid the withdrawal of US troops in 2021 raises
concern among Pakistani authorities. Pakistani officials fear that the growing violence in Afghanistan
will have an effect on Pakistan.89 In July 2021, Pakistan has sent army troops to replace theparamilitary forces alongside the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to secure the situation and avoid a
new influx of Afghan refugees.90

1.1.2 Ethnic and sectarian violence
Militant groups have continuously targeted religious minorities in Pakistan throughout the years.
Shias, Hindus, Christians and Ahmadiyya communities were the victims of sectarian violence.
According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, discrimination/sectarian violence does not only stemfrom militant groups, but also from the wider society.91 Since 2017, Pakistan is experiencing aresurgence in sectarian violence.92 Most frequently, such violence involves hostility between Sunniand Shia’s or the filling of blasphemy cases.93 The Guardian attributes the resurgence to the
Pakistani government who allows extremist Sunni Muslim groups such as the Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-

80 Guardian (The), Pakistani Taliban claim Karachi attack and leave peace talks in crisis, 9 June 2014, url
81 Burki, J.S., Pakistan’s Anti-Terror Offensive: The Zarb-e-Azb Operation, 20 June 2014, url, pp. 1-2
82 Express Tribune (The), Fight against terrorism: Defining moment, 25 December 2014, url
83 Deutsche Welle, Has Pakistan's Zarb-e-Azb military operation failed?, 2 September 2016, url
84 Dawn, Pakistan Army launches 'Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad' across the country, 22 February 2017, url
85 Brookings, Terrorism in Pakistan has declined, but the underlying roots of extremism remain, 15 January 2021, url
86 USIP, The Evolution and Potential Resurgence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, May 2021, url; TRT World, The rebranded'Pakistani Taliban' may pose a renewed threat, 21 August 2020, url
87 New America, Whither the Pakistani Taliban: An Assessment of Recent Trends, 31 August 2020, url
88 Diplomat (The), Spike in Violence Follows Failed Negotiations Between the Pakistani Taliban and Islamabad, 3 April 2021,
url
89 Dawn, Afghanistan situation is volatile, out of Pakistan's control: Moeed Yusuf, 9 July 2021, url; Deutsche Welle,
Afghanistan: Can Pakistan 'manage' the Taliban?, 13 July 2021, url
90 Gulf News, Pakistan deploys military troops on Afghan border amid security situation, 24 July 2021, url
91 CSW, General Briefing: Pakistan, 1 May 2020, url
92 Guardian (The), Pakistani Shias live in terror as sectarian violence increases, 21 October 2020, url
93 Deutsche Welle, Pakistan: Hardline Sunni groups on collision course with Shiites, 14 September 2020, url; PIPS, Pakistan
Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 62-64

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Jamaat (ASWJ) and Tehreek-e Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) to campaign in Pakistan.94 In its 2021 annual
report (covering 2020), the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
noted that religious freedom conditions continued to deteriorate. USCIRF mentioned ‘a sharp rise intargeted killings, blasphemy cases, forced conversions, and hate speech targeting religious
minorities including Ahmadis, Shi’a Muslims, Hindus, Christians, and Sikhs’.95
Examples of ethnic militancy include the case of Karachi (multicultural environment mixed withmilitant wings of political parties) and the case of Balochistan (Quetta), where the Shia Hazara
community has been specifically targeted.96 In July 2020, Abdul Basit, research fellow at the S.
Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), stated the geopolitical situation (the intra-Afghan
peace process and the India-China border dispute) has implications on the security situation and on
anti-Pakistan militant groups, particularly on the ethno-separatist groups.97

1.1.3 Political developments
On 25 July 2018, general elections were held in Pakistan. The run-up to these elections wasovershadowed by a series of violent incidents in different provinces, by criminal cases opened
against members of the ruling party and by the Prime Minister’s accusation that the military hadinterfered.98 Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI) party won most seats for the National
Assembly.99 On 18 August 2018, Imran Khan was sworn in as Pakistan’s Prime Minister.100 On
9 September 2018, Arif Alvi was sworn in as President of Pakistan.101
The Pakistani military is a prominent player in Pakistan's politics, particularly with regard to domestic
security, foreign policy and economic affairs.102 A May 2020 commentary by the European
Foundation of South Asian Studies (EFSAS), an Amsterdam-based think tank, stated that in the wakeof the 2013 general elections the military dominance in Pakistan increased.103 Serving and retired
military officials were given a number of key functions in the government of Prime Minister Imran
Khan.104 In an April 2020 report of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), analyst Cyril Almeida
mentioned that the government of Imran Khan ‘struggles to govern and manage the economy’.105
According to a March 2020 article published by the New York Times, the COVID-19106 outbreak inPakistan demonstrated the tensions between the government and the military.107 In September
2020, the political opposition accused the military establishment of interference in the civilian
administration and, hereby, of exceeding its subservient role, as laid down in the country's 1973
constitution. Furthermore, rights groups accuse the military agencies of unlawfully detaining
activists, journalists and political workers, and of censoring the media.108

94 Guardian (The), Pakistani Shias live in terror as sectarian violence increases, 21 October 2020, url
95 USCIRF, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2021 Annual Report; USCIRF – Recommended forCountries of Particular Concern (CPC): Pakistan, April 2021, url, p. 36
96 Azam, M. and Javaid, U., The sources of Militancy in Pakistan, (July - December, 2017), url, pp. 193-194
97 Nation (The), (Basit, A.), A New Wave of Terrorism in Pakistan, 14 July 2020, url
98 BBC News, Pakistan election: Who's who and why it matters, 22 July 2018, url; USIP, Despite Violence, Pakistan’s
Elections Steadily Improve, 16 August 2018, url
99 RFE/RL, Pakistani Opposition Leader Khan Ahead In Early Results, Media Report, 27 July 2018, url
100 Guardian (The), Imran Khan sworn in as prime minister of Pakistan, 18 August 2018, url
101 Dawn, Arif Alvi sworn in as 13th President of Pakistan, 9 September 2018, url
102 New York Times (The), Imran Khan’s ‘New Pakistan’ Is as Good as the Old, 17 July 2019, url; EFSAS, The Military's
overbearing shadow over Pakistan, 15 May 2020, url
103 EFSAS, The Military's overbearing shadow over Pakistan, 15 May 2020, url
104 Deutsche Welle, Why are Pakistan's generals taking up top civilian posts?, 28 May 2020, url
105 Almeida, C. and Olson, R., Pakistan’s Looming Coronavirus Crisis, 1 April 2020, USIP, url
106 Coronavirus disease 2019. Pakstan witnessed its first cases of COVID-19 on 26 February 2020; Arab News Pakistan,
Pakistan prepares to fight back as two coronavirus cases emerge in country, 26 February 2020, url
107 New York Times (The), ‘God Will Protect Us’: Coronavirus Spreads Through an Already Struggling Pakistan, 26 March
2020, url
108 Deutsche Welle, Amid civilian-military conflict, does Pakistan need a new social contract?, 24 September 2021, url

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Pakistan witnessed the emerge of the Pashtun Tahafuz (protection) Movement (PTM), a civil rights
movement advocating for rights for the Pashtun in the country.109 Sources are unclear about thedate when the PTM emerged. According to Al Jazeera, the PTM was founded in 2016.110 The
Diplomat stated that the PTM was ‘launched’ in 2018.111 The PTM has the following main demands:
the clearance of land mines from the tribal districts; accountability for targeted killings, forextrajudicial killings, for missing persons, and people who have been held without charge or crimeby the government.112 Manzoor Pashteen leads the PTM and the movement holds rallies and sit-ins.
The media barely covers these rallies.113 Two other leaders of the PTM, Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir,
ran in the general elections in 2018 as independent candidates and each won a seat in the National
Assembly.114 During 2018, the PTM and its leadership were labelled as ‘traitors, disloyal, and antistate’ by their opponents, according to a 2019 article of the Diplomat. The police and security
agencies arrested several members and activists.115 The Pakistani military accused the PTM of being
funded by India's main intelligence agency, called Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), and by theAfghan intelligence agency, called National Directorate of Security (NDS).116 Ali Wazir and eight
others were arrested117 after the military killed at least three protesters at a checkpoint in North
Waziristan on 26 May 2019, according to the PTM.118 Mohsin Dawar was arrested a couple of days
later.119 On 21 September 2019, both Wazir and Dawar, were released from prison on bail.120 On
27 January 2020, Manzoor Pashteen was arrested in Peshawar together with nine others of the PTM
on charges of sedition and hate speech.121 On 25 February 2020, Manzoor Pashteen was released
from prison.122 Arif Wazir, a leader of the PTM and brother of Ali Wazir, was arrested on
17 April 2020. He was ‘accused of delivering “anti-Pakistan” remarks during a recent visit to
Afghanistan.’ Arif Wazir died on 2 May 2020 after he was attacked by unknown gunmen in Wana inSouth Waziristan tribal district. Members of the PTM accused the state of being behind the attack.123
In June 2020, the PTM accepted an invitation by the government of Pakistan for consultation but
mentioned that the government should first take confidence-building measures.124 In December
2020, Ali Wazir was arrested in Peshawar and transferred to a prison in Karachi based on unspecified
charges.125 In February 2021, RFE/RL's Gandhara firstly reported that some members of the PTM
were willing to establish a political party. The aim of this political party would be to strengthen the
PTM’s campaign against human rights abuses. The debate of forming a political party caused internal
rift in the PTM.126 In June 2021, Mohsin Dawar with other founding members of the PTM formallyannounced the launch of a political party.127

109 BBC News, Manzoor Pashteen: The young tribesman rattling Pakistan's army, 23 April 2018, url
110 Al Jazeera, Why is Pakistan's Pashtun movement under attack?, 28 January 2020, url
111 Diplomat (The), Pakistan’s Pashtun Rights Movement Suffers First Casualty, 5 February 2019, url
112 Al Jazeera, Pakistan military warns Pashtun rights group its 'time is up', 30 April 2019, url
113 Diplomat (The), Pakistan’s Pashtun Rights Movement Suffers First Casualty, 5 February 2019, url; Brookings, Why is

Pakistan’s military repressing a huge, nonviolent Pashtun protest movement?, 7 February 2020, url
114 International News (The), Two PTM leaders make it to NA, 29 July 2018, url
115 Diplomat (The), Pakistan’s Pashtun Rights Movement Suffers First Casualty, 5 February 2019, url
116 Deutsche Welle, Is Pakistan's war-ravaged northwestern region turning against the military?, 7 May 2019, url
117 Al Jazeera, Pakistani legislator Dawar surrenders to authorities, 30 May 2019, url
118 Al Jazeera, Three killed by military gunfire at Pakistan rights protest, 26 May 2019, url
119 RFE/RL, Pakistan Arrests Second Pashtun Lawmaker Over 'Attack' On Troops, 30 May 2019, url
120 Dawn, MNAs Ali Wazir, Mohsin Dawar released from jail as bail goes into effect, 21 September 2019, url
121 BBC News, Manzoor Pashteen: Activist who dared to challenge Pakistan army held, 27 January 2020, url
122 Dawn, PTM's Manzoor Pashteen released from jail, 25 February 2020, url
123 Gandhara, Lawmaker Sees State-Sponsored Militants Behind Pashtun Activist’s Killing, 11 May 2020, url
124 Dawn, PTM says ready for talks but calls for confidence-building measures, 27 June 2020, url
125 Gandhara, Pakistani Police Arrest Lawmaker, Prominent Pashtun Rights Activist, 16 December 2020, url
126 Gandhara, Political Party Grows Out Of Pashtun Civil Rights Movement, 22 February 2021, url
127 Nation (The), Mohsin Dawar set to launch own party, 7 June 2021, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

1.1.4 International context
A sign of improvement in the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan reportedly came withthe visit of Pakistan’s military and intelligence chiefs to Kabul on 9 June 2020. The visit was described
as an ice breaker for the relations between the two countries.128 The visit occurred ahead of intraAfghan peace dialogue which was set to start in mid-June 2020.129 The reopening of trade routes
between Afghanistan and Pakistan in July 2020 was also seen as a positive and improving sign in theties between both countries.130 At the beginning of July 2020, Abdullah Abdullah, former head ofHigh Council of National Reconciliation (HCNR), announced an official visit to Pakistan as part of theefforts to initiate the intra-Afghan talks.131 In November 2020, Pakistan Prime Minister, Imran Khan,
travelled to Kabul and met with at that time Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to discuss ‘bilateralrelations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Afghan peace process, and regional economic
development and connectivity’.132 The Biden administration's announcement that the US will
withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by 11 September 2021 has sparked new disputes between
Pakistan and Afghanistan.133 On 10 May 2021, Pakistan army chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Kabuland stated that Pakistan will support Afghanistan in the peace process.134 On 14 May 2021, at thattime Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stated in an interview with the German news magazine Der
Spiegel that Pakistan ‘operates an organized system of support’ for the Afghan Taliban.135 Pakistan
denied these allegations.136 In June 2021, at that time Afghanistan’s national security adviser,
Hamdullah Mohib made some provocative remarks about Pakistan that ignited a diplomatic crisis
between both countries.137 In July 2021, the daughter of the ambassador to Pakistan was abductedin the middle of the Pakistani capital Islamabad and held for several hours.138 This incident further
propelled tensions between the two neighbouring countries. Afghanistan withdrew its ambassador
to Pakistan.139 Afghanistan accused Pakistan of sending thousands of jihadi militants over the borderand providing a safe haven for the Taliban. Pakistan in turn accused Kabul of harbouring antiPakistani groups.140 In the first week of August 2021, the Taliban advanced rapidly in Afghanistan,and in less than nine days they took control over most of Afghanistan’s provincial capitals, including
Kabul.141 On 15 August 2021, President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan.142 The following day, Taliban
leaders declared the war to be over. On 19 August 2021, an official Taliban spokesperson, Zabiullah
Mujahid, declared the creation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Some analyses point out thecompeting interests within Pakistan’s government about the Taliban take-over.143 Overall
statements by Pakistani officials are interpreted as welcoming the Taliban take-over.144 However,some officials have carefully expressed that they support a peaceful resolution in Afghanistan, and128 Express Tribune (The), Afghanistan's Abdullah Abdullah to visit Pakistan soon, 5 July 2020, url
129 AA, Pakistan's military, intelligence chiefs visit Kabul, 9 June 2020, url
130 Diplomat (The), What Does Afghanistan’s Latest Outreach to Pakistan Mean for India?, 27 July 2020, url
131 Express Tribune (The), Afghanistan's Abdullah Abdullah to visit Pakistan soon, 5 July 2020, url
132 Al Jazeera, Pakistan PM pledges support for Afghan peace in historic visit, 19 November 2020, url
133 International News (The), Pak-Afghan ties, 19 May 2021, url
134 International Crisis Group, Pakistan: Shoring Up Afghanistan’s Peace Process, 30 June 2021, url, pp. 13-14; Reuters,

Pakistani general reiterates support for Afghan peace process as violence surges, 10 May 2021, url
135 Der Spiegel, Interview with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani "I Know I Am Only One Bullet Away from Death", 14
May 2021, url
136 International News (The), Pakistan protests Afghan govt’s accusations, 18 May 2021, url
137 Express Tribune (The), Afghan NSA’s remarks spark diplomatic crisis, 7 June 2021, url
138 Deutsche Welle, Pakistan: Daughter of Afghan ambassador kidnapped, tortured, 17 July 2021, url
139 Diplomat (The), Afghanistan-Pakistan Ties Fray Further Over Abduction of Afghan Ambassador’s Daughter, 22 July 2021,
url
140 Deutsche Welle, Pakistan: Daughter of Afghan ambassador kidnapped, tortured, 17 July 2021, url
141 VoA, Taliban’s Afghanistan Takeover – a Timeline, 17 August 2021, url
142 Al Jazeera, Kabul the day after the takeover, 16 August 2021, url
143 Al Jazeera, Biden defends Afghanistan pullout amid airport chaos, 17 August 2021, url
144 Diplomat (The), The Taliban’s Careful Cheerleaders: Pakistan’s Statements on the Fall of Kabul, 17 August 2021, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

they have communicated a stance of non-interference in Afghan affairs.145 Pakistan’s prime minister,
Imran Khan, stated that Afghans had broken ‘the shackles of slavery’.146 At the beginning of
September 2021, a Pakistani delegation led by Faiz Hameed, director of the Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI) visited Kabul and held a meeting with the Taliban.147
Ties between Pakistan and India deteriorated in 2019 due to a series of events.148 The heightened
tensions started with the February 2019 attack in Pulwama in Indian-administered Kashmir, claimed
by Jaish-e Muhammed (JeM).149 On 26 February 2019, the Indian Air Force conducted airstrikes at
Balakot in Pakistan.150 On 5 August 2019, India removed Kashmir’s special autonomous status(Indian-administered Kashmir) from its constitution with a presidential decree. Pakistan reacted bystating that it will expel India’s high commissioner in Islamabad and suspend all trade with India.151
In June 2020, a diplomatic feud between India and Pakistan erupted, leading to reducing the
diplomatic staff by half in both countries.152 On 30 June 2020, Prime Minister Imran Khan accusedIndia in the parliament of Pakistan of being behind the fatal attack on the stock exchange building in
Karachi.153 In August 2020, Pakistan asked the US to mediate and to help deescalate the tensions
with India.154 On 25 February 2021, India and Pakistan issued a joint statement indicating that bothnations agreed to end cross border firing at the disputed Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir.155 In April
2021, the Pakistani government halted on restarting to import goods from India. Prime minister
Imran Khan stated that ‘trade with India would not be normalized until New Delhi resumed
Kashmir's special constitutional status.’156 At the end of May 2021, Prime minister Imran Khan
reaffirmed this and mentioned ‘that bilateral ties with India cannot return to normal until theneighbouring country restores the semi-autonomous status of the disputed Kashmir region.’157
Pakistan and China have long-standing ties.158 The relationship between both countries has‘expanded from defence and diplomacy to economy and energy over the past three decades’.159 The
China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has further tightened economic cooperation.160 In July
2021, a string of attacks against Chinese nationals in Pakistan occurred.161 A bilateral meeting
between Pakistan and Chinese officials has taken place on 23 July 2021 in Beijing to discuss security
and regional developments.162 Pakistan increased security measures for all projects where Chinesecompanies and nationals are involved.163
In April 2021, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi travelled to Teheran and met with
President Hassan Rouhani, to discuss ‘bilateral ties, regional developments and the ongoing talks in
145 Diplomat (The), The Taliban’s Careful Cheerleaders: Pakistan’s Statements on the Fall of Kabul, 17 August 2021, url
146 Dawn, PM Imran talks about overpowering 'shackles of slavery' at Single National Curriculum launch, 16 August 2021,

url
147 AA, Pakistan’s intelligence chief visits Afghanistan’s capital, 4 September 2019, url
148 AA, India-Pakistan in 2019: Mistrust plagues relations, 24 December 2019, url
149 Deutsche Welle, India and Pakistan's troubled history, 27 February 2019, url; BBC News, Kashmir attack: Tracing thepath that led to Pulwama, 1 May 2019, url
150 BBC News, Balakot: Indian air strikes target militants in Pakistan, 26 February 2019, url
151 BBC News, Kashmir dispute: Pakistan downgrades ties with India, 7 August 2019, url; International Crisis Group, Raising
the Stakes in Jammu and Kashmir, 5 August 2020, url
152 VoA, Pakistan, India in Diplomatic Feud, 23 June 2020, url
153 Deutsche Welle, Pakistan's Imran Khan blames India for stock exchange attack, 30 June 2020, url
154 Dawn, Pakistan urges US to help de-escalate tensions with India, 12 August 2020, url
155 Al Jazeera, India, Pakistan agree to stop cross-border firing in Kashmir, 25 February 2021, url
156 Deutsche Welle, Pakistan faces dilemma over trade ties with India, 5 April 2021, url
157 VoA, Pakistan PM: Normalizing Ties with India Would Be ‘Betrayal’ to Kashmiris, 30 May 2021, url
158 Diplomat (The), Pakistan’s Burgeoning Relationship with China, 24 January 2018, url; AA, Sino-Pakistan ties: Diplomacy
to strategic partnership, 5 March 2021, url
159 AA, Sino-Pakistan ties: Diplomacy to strategic partnership, 5 March 2021, url
160 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, How Pakistan and China Negotiate, 24 May 2021, url, p.16
161 Gandhara, Attacks On Chinese Workers In Pakistan Raise Regional Security Questions For Beijing, 30 July 2021, url
162 Dawn, Foreign Minister, ISI chief in China for strategic dialogue, 24 July 2021, url
163 Express Tribune (The), New security plan to cover ‘all Chinese workers’, 26 July 2021, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Vienna on the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.’164 In June 2021, Iran’s Special
Envoy for Afghanistan, Ebrahim Taherian Fard was on a two-day visit in Pakistan. Pakistan’s Foreign
Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi stressed the need for a closer coordination between Pakistan and
Iran regarding the peace process in Afghanistan.165
The relationship between the United States and Pakistan is one of ups and downs.166 Pakistan-US
relations have been set out around the security situation in Afghanistan and counterterrorism. The
Afghan peace process was an important aspect of the relations between both nations.167 In June
2020, Al Jazeera stated that the US mentioned that the US Special Representative for Afghan
Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad ‘expressed his appreciation’ for Pakistan’s efforts in the US-Taliban
peace deal signed in February 2020 in Doha.168 In June 2021, the Pakistan government refused theuse of its military bases by the US.169 In mid July 2021, a ‘quadrilateral diplomatic forum’ wasannounced between the US, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.170 At the end of July 2021, thenational security advisors of both countries held talks in Washington about the situation in
Afghanistan.171

1.2 Actors in the conflict
1.2.1 State forces
The section below provides a description of the different branches of state armed forces. For adetailed description of the state’s ability to secure law and order, see 1.5. State ability to secure law
and order.
Pakistan Armed Forces
The Pakistan Armed Forces comprise the army, the navy, the air force and paramilitary. The
operation command rests with the National Command Authority. The Pakistan Armed Forces havearound 651 800 active personnel. They have traditionally been oriented and structured against a
threat from India. Since 2008, however, a priority for the army has been counterinsurgency
operations. The Pakistan Armed Forces wield considerably domestic political influence.172
The Pakistani army consists of 26 combat divisions falling under the control of nine army corps. Most
divisions are infantry divisions.173 The total active personnel of the Pakistani army is estimated at
560 000.174 Since November 2016, the Pakistan army is led by General Qamar Jawed Bajwa.175 In
August 2019, the government of Pakistan extended the tenure of General Bajwa by three years. This
move came three months before his tenure would have ended in November 2019.176 On
28 November 2019, the Supreme Court of Pakistan granted a six-month extension after initially
blocking the government's decision to extend the tenure of General Bajwa.177 On 7 January 2020,
the National Assembly passed three bills ‘to set a higher retirement age for the chiefs of the

164 AA, Iran, Pakistan seek to bolster trade, border security, 21 April 2021, url
165 Dawn, FM urges greater liaison with Iran for Afghan peace, 25 June 2021, url
166 Brookings, Will the Afghan peace process be Pakistan’s road to redemption?, 25 June 2020, url
167 USIP, U.S., Pakistan at ‘Convergence’ on Afghanistan, Says Pakistani Envoy, 8 July 2021, url
168 Al Jazeera, Pakistan, US hold talks on restarting intra-Afghan peace talks, 8 June 2020, url
169 AA, Pakistan refuses to allow US military to use its bases, 8 June 2021, url
170 Express Tribune (The), New quad launched for Afghan stability, 16 July 2021, url
171 Dawn, US, Pakistan NSAs meet in Washington to discuss Afghan security situation, 30 July 2021, url
172 IISS, The Military Balance 2021, 25 February 2021, url, p. 289
173 Reuters, Factbox - Pakistan, India troop strength and weapons, 19 February 2019, url
174 IISS, The Military Balance 2021, 25 February 2021, url, p. 290
175 New York Times (The), Pakistan Army ‘Has Greatly Increased Its Clout’ Under New Chief, 28 January 2018, url
176 Brookings, The curious case of the Pakistani army chief’s extension, 4 December 2019, url
177 Al Jazeera, Pakistan's top court grants extension to army chief's tenure 28 November 2019, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Pakistani army, navy and air force allowing the prime minister to extend their terms at his
discretion’.178
The air force has 425 combat aircrafts and has seven airborne early warning and control aircrafts.179
Active personnel is estimated at 70 000.180 Since March 2021, the Pakistani air force is led by Air
Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu.181 The navy consists of nine frigates, eight submarines,
seventeen patrol and coastal vessels, and eight combat capable aircrafts.182 Active personnel isestimated at 21 800.183 Since October 2020, the navy is led by Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan
Niazi.184
In September 2020, the political opposition accused the military establishment of interference in thecivilian administration and, hereby, of exceeding its subservient role, as laid down in the country's
1973 constitution. Furthermore, ‘rights groups accuse the military agencies of unlawfully detaining
activists, journalists and political workers, and censoring the media’.185
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)The ISI is one of several and the most important military intelligence service in Pakistan. The ISI’s
task is coordinating intelligence between the branches of the military, collecting foreign anddomestic intelligence, and conducting covert offensive operations.186 Since June 2019, the ISI isheaded by Lieutenant-General Faiz Hameed.187
According to Hein Kiessling, a political scientist and historian, the ISI reportedly has close ties with anumber of extremist Islamist groups.188 In the 1990s, the ISI established close relationships withgroups such as Lashkar-e Taiba (LeT)189 and Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) to put pressure on India.190
The US has accused the ISI of supporting groups such as the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani
Network.191 The Diplomat stated in October 2018 that former Afghan Intelligence Chief Amrullah
Salah mentioned that the ISI supports ‘terrorist groups’.192 An April 2020 article published by Al
Jazeera stated that ‘international rights groups such as Amnesty International have repeatedly
accused the ISI of using its surveillance programmes to abduct rights activists alongside legitimate
security targets.’193 The press freedom index annually documented by Reporters Without Borders,which was published in April 2021, outlines that the military controls journalists and mentions that
the ISI ‘continues to make extensive use of judicial harassment, intimidation, abduction and torture
to silence critics both domestically and abroad’.194
In November 2020, Prime Minister Imran Khan approved the establishment of the National
Intelligence Coordination Committee (NICC). The NICC is headed by the Director-General of the

178 Al Jazeera, Pakistan passes bill legalising extensions for military chiefs, 8 January 2020, url
179 Reuters, Factbox - Pakistan, India troop strength and weapons, 19 February 2019, url
180 IISS, The Military Balance 2021, 25 February 2021, url, p. 290
181 Dawn, Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar named new PAF chief, 17 March 2021, url
182 Reuters, Factbox - Pakistan, India troop strength and weapons, 19 February 2019, url
183 IISS, The Military Balance 2021, 25 February 2021, url, p. 290
184 AA, Pakistan's new naval chief takes command, 7 October 2020, url
185 Deutsche Welle, Amid civilian-military conflict, does Pakistan need a new social contract?, 24 September 2021, url
186 Global Security, ISI Organization, 15 December 2016, url
187 Dawn, Military rejects speculation about ISI chief, 23 February 2021, url
188 Kiessling, H., Faith, Unity, Discipline The Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan, October 2016, pp. 1-11
189 BBC News, Hafiz Saeed: Will Pakistan's 'terror cleric' stay in jail?, 13 February 2020, url
190 Kiessling, H., Faith, Unity, Discipline The Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan, October 2016, pp. 1-11
191 Reuters, Mattis says will try to work with Pakistan 'one more time', 3 October 2017, url; Al Jazeera, Pakistan appoints

new head of powerful intelligence agency, 10 October 2018, url
192 Diplomat (The), Why Pakistan Isn’t Changing Its Taliban Policy, 25 October 2018, url
193 Al Jazeera, Pakistan using intelligence services to track coronavirus cases, 24 April 2020, url
194 Reporters Sans Frontièrs, RSF 2021 Index: Censorship and disinformation virus hits Asia-Pacific, 20 April 2021, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Inter-Services Intelligence. The NICC is created as a control organ to coordinate over two dozen
intelligence organisations in Pakistan.195
The Frontier Corps (FC)The Frontier Corps (FC) is an auxiliary paramilitary force, formally under the authority of the Interior
Ministry.196 Their strength is estimated at 70 000.197 There are two major subdivisions, one stationed
in KP and one stationed in the province of Balochistan. According to the US Department of State(USDOS), the Frontier Corps ‘reports to the Interior Ministry in peacetime and to the [Pakistan] armyin times of conflict’. The primary goal of the FC is to maintain security alongside the PakistanAfghanistan border.198 The FC is frequently targeted by Baloch nationalist groups in Balochistan
province.199
Levies and Khassadars
In April 2019, the provincial government of KP announced the merger of former FATA Levies andKhassadar forces into KP police.200 In August 2020, it was formally announced that the Levies andKhassadar forces were a part of the regular police force in the province of KP.201 According to a
December 2019 newspaper article, the Balochistan Home Minister stated the strength of the Levies
in the province of Balochistan to be 30 000. In December 2019, the provincial government in
Balochistan was in the process of modernising the Levies Force. Several wings of the Levies Forcewere created, including a CPEC wing, a Quick Reaction Force and an investigation wing.202
The Rangers
The Rangers are a paramilitary force under the authority of the Interior Ministry. There are two
major subdivisions: the Punjabi Rangers headquartered in Lahore and the Sindh Rangers
headquartered in Karachi.203 The Rangers help local law enforcement, provide border security andfight smuggling. According to a March 2016 publication of the government of Pakistan, their total
strength is about 23 515 personnel in Punjab and 27 778 in Sindh.204 No recent figures could befound for the reference period of this report.
The Pakistani police
The Pakistani police, as a primary domestic security force, are responsible for most parts of thecountry. USDOS reported that the local police is governed under the jurisdiction of provincial
governments.205 According to USIP, the Pakistani police is underfunded, and has shortfalls in facilities
and equipment. They are facing the difficult task of fighting rising crime. USIP mentioned that:‘police stations remain focused on their traditional roles of controlling crime and maintaining order

195 Dawn, PM okays creation of liaison body for spy agencies, 24 November 2020, url
196 IISS, The Military Balance 2021, 25 February 2021, url, p. 292
197 IISS, The Military Balance 2021, 25 February 2021, url, p. 292
198 USDOS, 2020 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Pakistan, 30 March 2021, url, p. 1
199 Zahid, F., Baluch Nationalist-Separatist Militant Alliance Threatens Pakistani Security Forces, 12 February 2021, in:Terrorism Monitor Volume: 19 Issue: 3, url
200 Nation (The), Khasadar, Levies forces merged into KP police, 9 April 2019, url
201 Express Tribune (The), Ex-Khasadars, Levies officers finish first phase of police integration training in K-P, 20 December
2020, url
202 Express Tribune (The), Govt modernising Levies force, 22 December 2019, url
203 IISS, The Military Balance 2021, 25 February 2021, url, pp-290-292
204 National Commission for Government Reforms Prime Minister’s office Government of Pakistan, A functional and legal
classification of Corporations, autonomous bodies and attached departments under the federal government, March 2016,
url, p. 69
205 USDOS, 2020 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Pakistan, 30 March 2021, url, p. 1

27

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situationand have not accepted countering terrorism as part of their mission’.206 The police are perceived as‘inefficient, corrupt, brutal, unprofessional and politicised’.207
Pro-government armed militia
Tribal militias (so-called Lashkars) emerged in 2008 in the tribal belt. The Pakistani military counted
on the tribal militias ‘to work as localized forces’ and to help fight the Taliban in the tribal area in2008.208 In May 2016 Dawn reported that the provincial government of KP withdrew theirfinancing.209 In April 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan stated that ‘his country’ had no use of armed
militias anymore’.210

1.2.2 Armed groups
A January 2021 report by RSIS stated that in 2020 ‘Pakistan’s threat landscape was marked byshifting terrorist tactics, the reunification of Pakistani Taliban and re-emergence of Sunni-Shia
tensions’.211 Similar observations were made by Hassan Abbas in a February 2021 article publishedby the Combating Terrorism Center. Hassan Abbas stated the following:‘an increased crime-terror nexus in urban centres and a new terrorist recruitment drive by
Islamic State Khorasan province, or ISK, in Baluchistan has raised alarms. Tehrik-i-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) is trying to stage a comeback, and sectarianism is also rising, creating acongenial environment for terrorist and extremist organizations, including some Kashmirfocused groups that have evaded counterterrorism scrutiny.’212
In an interview via email on 12 July 2021, Pakistani journalist, Kiyya Baloch stated the following
about the main actors of instability in Pakistan in 2021:‘So far, the Baloch nationalist insurgent groups are the main actors of instability in Pakistan,but the nationalist insurgents have carried out the most attacks in Pakistan’s southwestern
Balochistan province. The Baloch nationalist insurgents have been behind several deadly
attacks inside and outside of Balochistan for decades. They have waged a campaign seeking
separation from Pakistan. The militant Islamic State group also carried out a fatal attack in
Balochistan, killing 11 Shia Hazara coal miners in January 2021. TTP and religiously motivatedgroups also remain active in northwestern and southwestern Pakistan, often carrying out
attacks.’213
The main armed groups in Pakistan are described in detail below.
Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP)The TTP (also called Pakistani Taliban) was officially formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, who was
killed in 2009 by a missile strike.214 The TTP is an umbrella organisation that was formed out of about
13 distinct Pakistani Taliban factions.215 The objectives of the TTP are ‘the implementation of Sharia
law, the ousting of coalition forces from Afghanistan and a defensive jihad against Pakistani security
206 USIP, A Counterterrorism Role for Pakistan’s Police Stations, 18 August 2014, url, pp. 3-4
207 Dawn, Sisyphean task, 21 July 2019, url; International News (The), Inefficiency, corruption smears police department, 12

March 2018, url; International News (The), Inefficiency and corruption blotch police, 17 June 2019, url; Nation (The), Police
Reforms, 18 June 2021, url
208 New York Times (The), Pakistan Uses Tribal Militias in Taliban War, 23 October 2008, url
209 Dawn, Death by lashkar: The forgotten protectors of Adezai village, 9 May 2016, url
210 Diplomat (The), Pakistan Revisits the Usefulness of ‘Armed Militias’—For What?, 17 April 2019, url
211 RSIS, Annual Threat Assessment-South Asia, 1 January 2021, url, p. 72
212 Abbas, H., Extremism and Terrorism Trends in Pakistan: Changing Dynamics and New Challenges, February 2021, url, p.
44
213 Baloch, K., e-mail, 12 July 2021. Kiyya Baloch is a Pakistani journalist based in Norway covering Pakistan.
214 USIP, The Evolution and Potential Resurgence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, May 2021, url, pp. 5-6
215 Jeffery, F., Documenting: Jihadist groups operating in Afghanistan, Aurora Intel, 2 June 2019, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

forces’.216 In August 2008, the group was banned by the government of Pakistan.217 In 2013, thenomination of hardliner Mullah Fazlullah as successor for B. Mehsud was considered a rejection of
possible peace talks with the Pakistani authorities.218
The TTP is a Pakistan and Afghanistan-based terrorist organisation and operates in both Pakistan and
Afghanistan.219 Military operations during 2011-2015 eliminated the strongholds of the TTP in theformer FATA. Under the strain of military operations in North Waziristan in 2014, the rise of ISKP andtensions within the group over the leadership of Fazlullah, the TTP split into different factions.220
In June 2018, the TTP confirmed that their leader Mullah Fazlullah was killed by a US drone strike inthe province of Kunar in Afghanistan.221 The TTP appointed Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud as the new‘emir’ or TTP leader.222 The United Nations (UN) Security Council added emir Mufti Noor Wali
Mehsud to its list of terrorist leaders and operatives associated with al-Qaeda.223 In September 2018,
the TTP released a redefined code of conduct to outline internal procedures, tactics and efforts toseek unification of the different factions.224 Different sources indicated that under the leadership ofNoor Wali Mehsud the TTP was going through a resurgence and became operationally active
again.225 Noor Wali Mehsud focused on the reunification of various splinter factions. Since July
2020, the TTP announced a string of mergers with influential commanders and rival groups. 226 In July
2020, the TTP communicated that the Hakimullah Mehsud group returned to them.227 Shortly after,
the TTP announced that the Amjad Farouqi group (affiliated with al-Qaeda) had joined the them; thisstatement was followed by the announcement that the Usman Saifullah Kurd group of Lashkar-eJhangvi, under Maulvi Khush Muhammad Sindhi, had pledged allegiance to Noor Wali Mehsud.228 In
August 2020, both leaders of Jamaat-ul-hrar (JuA) and Hizbul-ul-Ahrar (HuA) joined the TTP.229 In
November 2020, the TTP announced the mergers of two groups originating from Waziristan, theMulawi Aleem Khan Ustad and Commander Umar Azzam groups.230 Multiple sources stated thatthese mergers indicate a resurgence and may result in an upsurge in the TTP’s activity.231 At the endof June 2021, CNN conducted a video interview with Noor Wali Mehsud. He denied all links with alQaeda and stated that TTP’s war is only with the Pakistani forces.232
According to experts interviewed by RFE/RL’s Gandhara, which is part of Radio Free Europe’s / Radio
Liberty’s family of news organization covering a selection of reports on Afghanistan and Pakistanfrom journalists on the ground, the operational command of the TTP has been decentralised.

216 Stanford University, Mapping Militant Organizations. “Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.”, last updated: July 2018, url
217 Dawn, Tehrik-i-Taliban banned, 26 August 2008, url
218 Guardian (The), Pakistani Taliban select hardliner Mullah Fazlullah as new leader, 8 November 2013, url
219 USDOS, Country Report on Terrorism 2019, 24 June 2020, url, pp. 300-301
220 Jeffery, F., Documenting: Jihadist groups operating in Afghanistan, Aurora Intel, 2 June 2019, url
221 Dawn, TTP chief targeted in Afghan drone strike: US, 15 June 2018, url; LWJ, Pakistani Taliban appoints new emir after

confirming death of Mullah Fazlullah, 23 June 2018, url
222 LWJ, Pakistani Taliban appoints new emir after confirming death of Mullah Fazlullah, 23 June 2018, url
223 UN Security Council, Noor Wali Mehsud, 16 July 2020, url
224 USIP, The Evolution and Potential Resurgence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, May 2021, url, p. 7; Middle East Institue(Hamming, T.), Jihadists' Code of Conduct in the Era of ISIS, 29 April 2019, url, p. 6
225 USIP, The Evolution and Potential Resurgence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, May 2021, url, p. 7; Fazl-e Haider, S.,
Pakistan’s TTP Mounts Comeback Under New Leadership of Wali Mehsud, 18 June 2021, in: Terrorism Monitor, volume:
19, issue: 12, url
226 Diplomat (The), The Pakistani Taliban is Back, 9 March 2021, url
227 Diplomat (The), The Resurgence of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, 18 June 2020, url
228 New America, Whither the Pakistani Taliban: An Assessment of Recent Trends, 31 August 2020, url
229 Al Jazeera, Pakistan Taliban reunites with two splinter groups, 18 August 2020, url
230 Sayed, A., Waziristan Militant Leader Aleem Khan Ustad Joins Tehreek-e-Taliban, 5 January 2021, in: Militant Leadership
Monitor, volume: 11, issue: 12, url
231 USIP, The Evolution and Potential Resurgence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, May 2021, url, p. 14; Diplomat (The), The
Pakistani Taliban is Back, 9 March 2021, url
232 CNN, Pakistani Taliban leader reacts to Afghan gains after US withdrawal, 27 July 2021, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Refraining from appointing commanders for certain areas, the TTP handed over significant authority
to local commanders. Each commander leads a unit that numbers around 25 to 30 fighters. In
addition, the TTP has increased its financial resources from extortion, smuggling, and taxes on locals
and businesses in areas where the group is active. The TTP shifted their tactics and reduced
indiscriminate attacks against civilians. This new tactic is described to be in line with the strategy of
the Afghan Taliban in Afghanistan. The TTP has sworn allegiance to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah
Haibatullah Akhundzada. The TTP has close ideological and organizational ties with the Afghan
Taliban.233
According to local sources, cited by by RFE/RL’s Gandhara, the TTP operates from the Bermal districtof Afghanistan’s eastern province of Paktika. Previously, the group was based in Afghanistan’seastern Kunar and Nuristan provinces.234 A BBC News Urdu article of April 2020 described thatmilitants of the TTP who are staying across the border may want to relocate to their native towns in
the tribal districts. Defense analyst Brigadier (Retd.) Mehmood Shah, quoted in the BBC article,
stated that about 9 000 militants wanted to come back to their native towns in the province of KP
after seeking forgiveness and promising to quit violence.235 According to the UN Security Council
report of June 2021, the ‘return of splinter groups to the TTP fold has increased its strength, ofwhich current Member State estimates range between 2,500 and 6,000 armed fighters, with one
Member State assessing that the upper range is more accurate.’236
In 2020, according to PIPS, the TTP was involved in 46 ‘terrorist attacks’, compared to 82 in 2019.237
PIPS mentioned also that most of the cross-border attacks in 2020 reported from Afghanistan werealso claimed by the TTP. In 2020, the TTP attacks were concentrated mainly in the provincie of KP.238
According to a report published by USIP in May 2021, attacks perpetrated by the TTP have ‘increased
significantly’ in the first months of 2021.239 For example: on 7 March 2021, two police officers in
Islamabad and Rawalpindi were killed in separate attacks by the TTP.240 The deaths of two police
officers killed in Islamabad in June 2021 were also claimed by the TTP.241 In April 2021, the TTP has
taken responsibility for a suicide attack on the Serena hotel in Quetta in the province of
Balochistan.242
Jamaat-ul Ahrar (JuA)
The JuA is a faction of the TTP but operates with a degree of autonomy.243 In the summer of 2014,
the JuA split from the TTP.244 In March 2015, the group rejoined the TTP but released its own
statements on attacks.245 The Diplomat reported in March 2017 that the group is operating from

233 Gandhara, The Rise Of The New Pakistani Taliban, 18 May 2021, url
234 Gandhara, The Rise Of The New Pakistani Taliban, 18 May 2021, url
235 BBC News Urdu, ‫ کیا شدت پسند قبائیل عالقوں می دوبارہ اکٹھے ہو رہ ہی؟‬:‫فورس اور شدت پسندوں می جھڑپی‬‫ز‬‫شمایل وزیرستان می سکیورٹ‬

‫ے ں‬
‫ں‬
‫ں‬
‫ں‬
‫ں‬
[informal translation ‘clashes between security forces and militants in North Waziristan: Are militants regrouping in thetribal areas’], 16 April 2020, url
236 UN Security Council, Letter dated 20 May 2021 from the Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant
to resolution 1988 (2011) addressed to the President of the Security Council, 1 June 2021, url, para.78
237 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 68; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url,
p. 78
238 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 78
239 USIP, The Evolution and Potential Resurgence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, May 2021, url, p. 12
240 Samaa TV, Two police officers killed in Rawalpindi, Islamabad shootings, 8 March 2021, url; Samaa TV, Two policemen
martyred in Islamabad gun attack: official, 4 June 2021, url
241 AA, 2 police officers killed in Islamabad 'terror attack', 4 June 2021, url
242 BBC News, Pakistan hotel bomb: Deadly blast hits luxury venue in Quetta, 22 April 2021, url
243 LWJ, Mehsud faction rejoins the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, 4 February 2017, url
244 LWJ, Taliban splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar forms in northwestern Pakistan, 26 August 2014, url; Nation (The), Ex-TTP
spokesman surrender a major breakthrough, 18 April 2017, url
245 Roggio, B. and Weiss, C., Pakistani Taliban faction showcases training camp, suicide attacks, 2 February 2017, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Lalpur in Nangarhar province in Afghanistan.246 The US government estimated that approximately
200 JuA militants were present in Afghanistan.247
The leadership of JuA reportedly had ties to al-Qaeda and its emir, Ayman al Zawahiri.248 In 2017, JuA
was led by Omar Khalid al Khurasani, a Taliban commander from Mohmand Agency. A spokesperson
for the group revealed that Khurasani was killed in October 2017 in a US drone strike in
Afghanistan.249 However, Khurasani reportedly released a statement, just days after his presumed
death. The US also did not confirm his death.250 In August 2020, the leader of JuA, Omar Khalid al
Khurasani joined the TTP.251
In August 2016, USDOS added the group to its list of global terrorist organisations.252 In June 2017,
JuA was listed as a terrorist group by the UN Security Council.253 In February 2017, JuA announced its
strategy for 2017 and named their action plan Operation Ghazi.254 The group encountered internal
rivalry and a faction led by former spokesperson Mukarram formed a separate group called Hizbul-ul
Ahrar (HuA) in November 2017.255 Different sources stated that since then the JuA was losing
operational strength and human resources.256 According to PIPS in its annual report of 2019 theweak organisational structure is due to internal rivalry and mportant commanders have reunited
with the TTP and surrendered to the security forces.257 The main targets of the group were militaryand law enforcement personnel, government buildings, politicians, minority groups and lawyers.258
In 2020, according to PIPS, JuA was involved in three ‘terrorist attacks’, compared to one in 2019.259
According to RFE/RL’s Gandhara, in August 2020 JuA claimed responsibility for an attack in Chamanin the province of Balochistan whereby a vehicle from Pakistan's Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) was
targeted.260
Hizbul Ahrar (HuA)
Hizbul Ahrar is a breakaway faction of the JuA. In November 2017, Mukkaram Khan announced theformation of HuA in a video message.261 Mukkaram Khan is a commander originating from
Mohmand tribal district. This group is orientated against the US and its allies.262 In April 2018, HuA
announced Operation Ibne Qasim263, directed against the Pakistani security forces while promising
not to harm civilians, according to Farhan Jeffery on Twitter in April 2018.264 In September 2018, the246 Diplomat (The), Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the 'Good Taliban', 10 March 2017, url
247 USDOD, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel Lead Inspector General report to the United States Congress January 1, 2019-

March 31, 2019, 5 August 2019, url, p. 25
248 Roggio, B. and Weiss, C., Pakistani Taliban faction showcases training camp, suicide attacks, 2 February 2017, url
249 Express Tribune (The), Khorasani confirmed dead in US drone strike, 19 October 2017, url
250 LWJ, Leader of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar emerges after reports of his death, 22 October 2017, url
251 Al Jazeera, Pakistan Taliban reunites with two splinter groups, 18 August 2020, url
252 USDOS, State Department Terrorist Designations and State sponsers of terrorism, 19 May 2019, url
253 UN Securtiy Council, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), 27 June 2018, url; Dawn, Pakistan welcomes UNSC sanctions on Jamaatul
Ahrar, 7 July 2017, url
254 FRC, Strategic Code of Conduct for “Operation Ghazi”, 16 February 2017, url
255 Dawn, Taliban splinter group splits further, 13 November 2017, url
256 RSIS, Annual Threat Assessment-South Asia, January 2019, Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, url, p. 54; PIPS,
Pakistan Security Report 2018, 6 January 2019, url, p. 74; PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2018, 19 April 2019,url, pp. 23-24
257 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 69
258 Dawn, Pakistan welcomes UNSC sanctions on Jamaatul Ahrar, 7 July 2017, url
259 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 70; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url,
p. 80
260 Gandhara, Bomb Kills Five In Troubled Pakistani Border Town, 10 August 2020, url
261 Dawn, Taliban splinter group splits further, 13 November 2017, url
262 Pakistan Today, Hizbul Ahrar takes birth as internal rifts tear Jamaatul Ahrar apart, 13 November 2017, url
263 ITCT, Hizbul Ahrar, n.d., url
264 FJ [Twitter], posted on: 24 April 2018, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed that it had neutralised a network of HuA.265 In
February 2019, HuA announced an operation against the Pakistani security forces named Operation
Shamzai.266 In January 2020, HuA announced a new operation named Operation Haqqani.267
In August 2019, HuA was banned in Pakistan under Section 11-B of Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism
Act.268 In an article of December 2019 expert Animesh Roul stated that HuA carried out ‘targeted
attacks in regular intervals.’ In 2019, the HuA killed several Pakistani soldiers and police officers intargeted attacks. Roul stated further that ‘one of the core strengths of HuA remains its cross-borderpresence and ability to launch attacks on Pakistani forces from Afghan soil by employing suicide
bombers and hit and run tactics’.269 In February 2020, BBC News reported that the Afghan forces
conducted a raid on HuA in the province of Nangarhar in Afghanistan. The fact that the Afghan
forces targeted HuA surprised members of the HuA, as they had never carried out attacks inside
Afghanistan.270 In August 2020, HuA rejoined the TTP.271
In 2020, according to PIPS, HuA was involved in four ‘terrorist attacks’, compared to fourteen in
2019.272 PIPS stated that two of the 2020 attacks occurred in the province of Punjab and one each inthe provinces of KP and Balochistan.273
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
The original aim of IMU is to overthrow the Uzbek government.274 The IMU has been active in the
Pakistani tribal region since late 2001, where it regrouped after sustaining heavy losses fighting
alongside the Taliban during the US invasion of Afghanistan. Under the leadership of Toher Yuldash
the group targeted the Pakistani security forces from its bases in North and South Waziristan. Since
2007, the IMU formed an alliance with the TTP and fought alongside them. In 2009, Yuldashev was
killed in a drone attack. Pakistan’s military operations forced the IMU to flee to North Waziristan
where it started to cooperate with the Haqqani Network. Osman Odil became the new leader of theorganisation in 2010.275 On 8 June 2014, IMU militants staged a major attack on Karachi
Airport.276 The Pakistani army subsequently made it a priority to eradicate the group. Most of its
militants fled to Afghanistan.277In 2015, a radical splinter group of IMU - the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU)- tried to export terrorism from its Pakistan base.278 At the end of March 2015, the IMU reportedly
pledged allegiance to ISKP.279 ‘However, some elements within IMU retained the name of the group
along with its alliance with al-Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban and the TTP. […] Remnants of IMU continue
to fight alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan’.280 In July 2020, a brief in Terrorism Monitor stated that
the IMU ‘is largely defunct and the relationship with the Taliban has been severely damaged by

265 Dawn, CTD Punjab ‘breaks’ TTP, Hizbul Ahrar network, 18 September 2018, url
266 Jeffery, F., Documenting: Jihadist groups operating in Afghanistan, Aurora Intel, 2 June 2019, url
267 PICSS, 2019 Annual Security Assessment Report, 9 January 2020, url, p. 32
268 Dawn, Nacta slaps ban on two more organisations, 23 August 2019, url
269 Roul, A., Hizb ul-Ahrar: Pakistan’s Cross-border Taliban Problem Remains Critical, 17 December 2019, Terrorism

Monitor, volume 17, issue 23, url
270 BBC News, Crackdown on militants as US and Afghan Taliban seek deal, 15 February 2020, url
271 Al Jazeera, Pakistan Taliban reunites with two splinter groups, 18 August 2020, url
272 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 70; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url,
p. 81
273 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 80
274 RFE/RL, What Next For The Islamic Movement Of Uzbekistan?, 23 August 2015, url
275 RFE/RL, What Next For The Islamic Movement Of Uzbekistan?, 23 August 2015, url
276 BBC News, Karachi airport: Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan claims attack, 11 June 2014, url
277 RFE/RL, What Next For The Islamic Movement Of Uzbekistan?, 23 August 2015, url
278 RFE/RL, What Next For The Islamic Movement Of Uzbekistan?, 23 August 2015, url
279 Stanford University, Mapping Militant Organizations, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, last updated August 2018, url
280 Jeffery, F., Documenting: Jihadist groups operating in Afghanistan, Aurora Intel, 2 June 2019, url

32

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

defections to IS-K [ …]’.281 No further information could be found about the IMU in Pakistan during
the reference period.
Al-Qaeda
Following the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, many al-Qaeda operatives withdrew to the
Pakistani tribal regions. ‘By 2010, Al-Qaeda had not only established links with the rebellious
clansmen, but also with longstanding sectarian militias and even within parts of the “mujahideen”
factions once patronised by, but increasingly irate with, the Pakistani state.’282 Among their ranks
were also Arabs, Uzbeks, Chechens and Chinese Muslims.283 In former FATA, al-Qaeda had aligned
itself with several militant groups, offering support with manpower, training and propaganda skills.
It also attacked the government of Pakistan, which was viewed as apostate for allying itself with the
US-led war on terrorism. Al-Qaeda attempted to develop privileged relations with the IJU in former
FATA.284 According to Farhan Zahid, al-Qaeda has suffered losses and setbacks. In August 2017, alQaeda was attempting to resurrect itself in Pakistan, possibly with the help of the Jamaat-ul Ansar
al-Sharia.285 According to an article published by Combating Terrorism Center in September 2017,
the presence of al-Qaeda in Karachi ‘appears to have grown in recent years’.286
According to the UN Security Council report of June 2021, Al-Qaeda resides in the border region of
Afghanistan with Pakistan and works closely with Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). The
AQIS has cadres mainly from Pakistan and Afghanistan with some from India, Bangladesh andMyanmar.287 Despite the fact that the group did not perpetrate any attacks in Pakistan in 2020 andprevious years, PIPS stated that law enforcement agencies in Pakistan still consider Al-Qaeda to be athreat.288 No further information could be found about al-Qaeda in Pakistan during the reference
period.
Jamaat-ul Ansar Al-Sharia
Jamaat-ul Ansar Al-Sharia is believed to be an umbrella organisation of Islamist terrorist
organisations endeavouring to converge into a platform to reintroduce al-Qaeda and restart armed
activities under its banner.289 It emerged in Pakistan in April 2017. A security official, cited in Dawn in
September 2017, stated that the exact date of the formation of this group was still not known
though it was initially believed that ‘the genesis of the group could be traced to Pakistanis fighting in
Syria.’ In 2017, the group operated in Karachi. The same article by Dawn in September 2017
mentioned that the group ‘has been busted with almost all its members taken into custody andbeing interrogated’.290
PIPS did not attribute any attack to this group in the 2020 annual security report.291 No further
information could be found about the Jamaat-ul Ansar Al-Sharia in Pakistan within the consulted
sources during the reference period.

281 Perkins, M.B., What Will Come of Uzbek and Central Asian Militant Groups Fighting Alongside the Taliban?, 28 July 2020,

Terrorism Monitor, volume: 18, issue: 15, url
282 TRT World, Al Qaeda: Ten years after Osama bin Laden, 3 May 2021, url
283 Reuters Alertnet, Analysis - The ties that kill: Pakistan militant groups uniting, 30 May 2010, url
284 CSIS, Religion and militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan, 29 June 2012, url, pp. 67-68
285 Zahid, F., The Return of Al-Qaeda to Pakistan, Middle East Institute, 24 August 2017, url
286 Combating Terrorism Center, Al-Qa`ida in Pakistan: A Metric Problem?, September 2017, url
287 UN Security Council, Letter dated 20 May 2021 from the Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant
to resolution 1988 (2011) addressed to the President of the Security Council, 1 June 2021, url, p. 3, p. 13
288 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 82
289 Zahid, F., Jamaat ul Ansar al-Sharia: The New al-Qaeda Threat in Pakistan, 22 September 2017, url; Zahid, F., The Returnof Al-Qaeda to Pakistan, Middle East Institute, 24 August 2017, url
290 Dawn, The rise and ‘fall’ of Ansarul Sharia Pakistan, 9 September 2017, url
291 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021 url

33

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

The Punjabi Taliban‘The Punjabi Taliban network is a loose conglomeration of members of banned militant groups of
Punjabi origin’, mostly sectarian and Kashmir insurgency focused, who have developed strong links
with the TTP. The major factions of this network include operatives from LeJ, Sipah-e Sahaba
Pakistan (SSP) and JeM and their splinter groups (for details on these groups, see their separate
sections in this chapter).292 In 2014, the TTP Punjab chapter was led by Maulana Asmatullah
Muawiya.293 In September 2014, Muawiya first intended to shift his militant activities from Pakistan
to Afghanistan, and then some days later announced he would give up armed struggle in Pakistan
entirely and use peaceful means instead.294 In April 2016, it was reported that the Punjabi Taliban
was considered weakened and scattered.295 On 30 July 2020, the TTP announced the inclusion of theAmjad Farouqi group of the so-called Punjabi Taliban.296
Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP)The first reports about ISKP (also called ISIS, ISIL, IS, or Daesh) appearing in Pakistan date back to thebeginning of 2015.297 IS envisaged global expansion of the caliphate and designated the region of
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and the Central Asian republics as Wilayat Khorasan (ISKP – Islamic State
Khorasan Province).298 In May 2019, Islamic State announced the creation of Wilayat Pakistan(Islamic State Pakistan Province, ISPP)299 after claiming multiple attacks in the province of
Balochistan.300 A former TTP commander from Karachi, Daud Mehsud, had been appointed as ‘emir’of the Islamic State Province of Pakistan (ISPP).301 ISPP is believed to be autonomous from ISIS’s
central command.302 In 2016 it was reported that different militant groups pledged allegiance to theleader of IS, al-Baghdadi.303 The group has strong alliances with anti-Shia Sunni militant groups.304
In 2017, Farhan Zahid stated that ISKP had managed to increase its influence by forming ‘tacticalalliances’ with similar local militant groups. ‘ISKP was likely to assert its dominance through local
affiliates in urban centres of Pakistan’.305 Different sources reported that in 2016-2017 ISKP had
recruitment networks in several major urban regions such as Peshawar and Karachi.306 In a report of292 Abbas, H., Defining the Punjabi Taliban Network, 15 April 2009, url
293 TRT World, Pakistani Taliban: Between infighting, government crackdowns and Daesh, 18 April 2019, url
294 Dawn, Punjabi Taliban call off armed struggle in Pakistan, 13 September 2014, url; Dawn, Punjabi Taliban give up ‘armed

struggle’, 14 September 2014, url
295 International News (The), Who are Punjabi Taliban?, 24 April 2016, url
296 RSIS, Annual Threat Assessment-South Asia, 1 January 2021, Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, url, p. 74
297 Henry Jackson Society (The), ISIS Khorasan: Presence and potential in the Afghanistan Pakistan- region, October 2017,
url, pp. 4-7; USIP, The Islamic State in Pakistan, 21 September 2016, url
298 Jamestown Foundation, Islamic State in Afghanistan Ready to Capitalize on Mullah Omar’s Death, 3 September 2015, url
299 Throughout this report reference is made to ISKP.
300 Jeffery, F., What Does Islamic State's Wilayat al-Hind & Wilayat Pakistan Mean?, ITCT, 20 May 2019, url
301 RSIS, RSIS, Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, Annual Threat Assessment-South Asia, January 2020, url, p. 58
302
Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy (The), ISIS in South Asia: Struggle for Survival Beyond ‘Khorasan’, 29 July 2020,
url
303 Jamestown Foundation (The), ‘Growing Evidence of Islamic State in Pakistan’, 4 February 2016, url; Diplomat (The), The
Islamic State Threat Is Real in Pakistan, 18 February 2016, url
304 RSIS, RSIS, Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, Annual Threat Assessment-South Asia, January 2020, url, p. 58; Basit,
A., The US-Taliban Deal and Expected US Exit from Afghanistan: Impact on South Asian Militant Landscape, June 2020,
Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, volume 12, issue 4, url, p. 13
305 Zahid, F., ‘IS Footprint in Pakistan: Nature of Presence, Method of Recruitment, and Future Outlook’, Counter Terrorist
Trends and Analyses, Volume 9, Issue 5, May 2017, url
306 Jamestown Foundation (The), ‘Growing Evidence of Islamic State in Pakistan’, 4 February 2016, url; New Humanitarian(The), Islamic State ramps up recruitment in Pakistan, 11 January 2017, url; Wall Street Journal (The), Pakistan Frets Over
Potential Appeal of Islamic State, 23 February 2016, url; VoA, Islamic State Takes Root, Grows Along Afghan-Pakistan
Border, 1 March 2017, url

34

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

May 2019 by Huzaifa Baloch, a writer on security issues, it is stated that ISKP has ex-TTP
commanders within its ranks and this makes it easy for this group to carry out attacks in Pakistan.307
In July 2021, it was reported that in the last two years law enforcement agencies in the province ofSindh have killed or arrested more than 118 ISKP militants. The law enforcement agencies statedthat they destroyed a network of ISKP in Manghopir.308 In July 2021, a message on Twitter circulated
stating that areas in KP province that formerly were under ISPP, now have been integrated under
ISKP.309
In 2020, PIPS documented that ISPK claimed responsibility for two ‘terrorist attacks’, one in
Peshawar and one in Quetta. In 2019, ISKP only claimed one attack.310
Haqqani Network
The Haqqani network is an insurgent group that was formed in the late 1980s.311 Jalaluddin Haqqani
founded the Haqqani Network.312 In September 2018, Jalaluddin Haqqani reportedly died aged 71.313
In July 2015, Sirajuddin Haqqani was appointed as one of two deputy heads of the Afghan Taliban.314
The group’s leadership historically maintained a power base around Pakistan’s tribal areas.315
According to a USDOS report of May 2020:‘The DIA also told the DoD OIG that Pakistan continues to harbor the Taliban and associatedmilitant groups in Pakistan, such as the Haqqani Network, which maintains the ability to
conduct attacks against Afghan interests.’316
It was reported in 2017 that the Haqqani Network also had a long-standing relationship with the ISI,
which led to frictions between Pakistan and the US.317 A 2012 source stated that the Haqqani
network was also believed to have ties with al-Qaeda.318 A United States general stated in
November 2014 that ongoing Pakistani military operations in North Waziristan have ‘disrupted’ themilitary capabilities of the Haqqani Network.319 The group ‘is active along the Afghanistan-Pakistan
border and across much of south-eastern Afghanistan, particularly in Loya Paktia’.320 The Haqqani
Network relocated in 2014 from North Waziristan to Kurram under pressure of these military
operations.321 No information could be found within the consulted sources during the reference
period of attacks carried out by the Haqqani Network in Pakistan.
Sipah-e Sahaba Pakistan (SSP)
SSP is a former Deobandi political party founded in the early 1980s. Sunni cleric Maulana Haq Nawaz
Jhangvi founded Lashkar-e Jhangvi, the militant wing of SSP in Jhang, Punjab. Its principal aim is to

307 Baloch, H., Peace Talks, ISKP and TTP--The Future in Question, ITCT, 6 May 2019, url
308 International News (The), In last two years: Was large Daesh network dismantled in Karachi?, 5 July 2021, url
309 ValleRiccardo, [Twitter], posted on: 18 July 2021, url
310 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 70; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url,

pp. 81-82
311 USDOS, Country Report on Terrorism 2019, 24 June 2020, url, p. 258
312 Deutsche Welle, Taliban: Haqqani network leader dead, 4 September 2018, url
313 AP, Death of Afghan group’s founder unlikely to weaken militants, 4 September 2018, url
314 Ruttig, T., The New Taleban Deputy Leaders: Is there an obvious successor to Akhtar Mansur?, 10 February 2016, AAN,
url
315 VoA, What Is the Haqqani Network?, 1 June 2017, url; Economic Times (The), US asks Pakistan to act against Haqqani
network, other terror groups, 27 February 2018, url
316 USDOD, Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel I Quarterly Report to the United States Congress I
January 1, 2020 - March 31, 2020, 19 May 2020, url, p. 5
317 VoA, Haqqani Network Remains Primary Source of Pakistan-US Tensions, 29 November 2017, url
318 CSIS, Religion and militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan, 29 June 2012, url, p. 63
319 Dawn, Operation Zarb-e-Azb disrupted Haqqani network; US general, 6 November 2014, url
320 USDOS, Country Report on Terrorism 2018,1 November 2019, url, p. 282
321 LWJ, US drones target jihadist ‘hideouts’ in Pakistan’s tribal areas, 22 February 2016, url

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

fight Shia influence in Pakistan.322 Jhangvi was assassinated in 1990323 and replaced by Maulana
Azam Tariq. In 2003, Tariq was killed.324 In July 2005, Dawn identified Maulana Ali Sher Hyderi[Haideri] as a leader of the SSP.325 It was reported that the organisation had close ties with the Jihadiorganisation JeM and the TTP, and was a part of the Punjabi Taliban network. Several reports
labelled SSP as a violent group. At the beginning of the century, it was responsible for the murder ofShia militants, ordinary Shia citizens and attacks on Shia mosques. Although the group denied
involvement in violence, former President Musharraf banned it in 2002.326 A part of SSP rebranded
itself as Ah-le Sunnat Wal Jama’at, which under the leadership of Maulana Muhammad Ahmed
Ludhianvi became a political party.327
Other members left SSP to form Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ), which was said by observers to be evenmore radical than the SSP. Other extremist splinter groups of SSP include the Jhangvi Tigers, Al-Haq
Tigers, Tanzeem-ul Haq, Al-Farooq and the Al-Badr Foundation.328 The core of SSP supporters wasmade up of Sunni peasantry in the rural Jhang and merchant and trader classes in the urban centres.
The madrassas (Islamic schools) were a major recruiting ground for SSP. The group’s cadres received
jihadi training in Afghanistan. To fund its organisation and activities, SSP ‘relied on contributions
from its supporters in the form of zakat (religious alms)’. Sunni business people contributed as well.
Observers believed that SSP received considerable financial and logistic backing from Saudi
government who wanted ‘to curb Iran’s influence over the Shia population in Pakistan’.329 In 2007, it
was reported that SSP had a political party; it also had a student wing, an insurance company, many
offices in all districts of the Punjab and a nationwide network.330
Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ)
LeJ is a Deobandi militant group founded in 1996, when a number of militants led by Riaz Basra,
Akram Lahori and Malik Ishaq broke away from SSP Pakistan. LeJ is not a political party but a purely
paramilitary organisation.331 USDOS noted in June 2020 that LeJ was formed as the militant wing of
SSP to attack the Shia community.332 LeJ was openly supported by the ISI, which used the group as aproxy in Afghanistan and India as well to counter Shia militant groups.333 LeJ was banned by the
Pakistan government in 2001 and was placed on the US terrorist list in 2003.334 Its undergroundviolent activities continued, especially against Shias and members of the Hazara community in
Quetta.335
Although most of the violence used by LeJ targets Shias, the organisation also cultivated a radical
stance against Christians, Ahmadi and Sufi Muslims.336 A substantial part of the leadership of LeJ
322 Nelson, M., EASO, EASO COI Meeting Report: Pakistan; 16-17 October 2017, Rome, February 2018, url, p. 30
323 Jamestown Foundation (The), ‘Sipah-e-Sahaba: Fomenting Sectarian Violence in Pakistan’, 5 May 2005, url
324 GEO News TV, Suspect in Maulana Azam Tariq's murder arrested from Islamabad airport, 11 May 2017, url
325 Dawn, Hunt intensified; 200 held: Prominent SSP leader arrested in Khairpur, 21 July 2005, url
326 Dawn, 2009: Southern Punjab extremism battle between haves and have-nots, 21 May 2011, url; NOREF, Sectarian

violence: Pakistan’s greatest security threat?, July 2012, url, p. 4,; Rashid, A., Descent into Chaos, 2008, pp. 227-228;
Jamestown Foundation (The), ‘Sipah-e-Sahaba: Fomenting Sectarian Violence in Pakistan’, 5 May 2005, url; Abbas, H.,
Defining the Punjabi Taliban Network, 15 April 2009, url
327 Nelson, M., EASO, EASO COI Meeting Report: Pakistan; 16-17 October 2017, Rome, February 2018, url, p. 30
328 CSIS, Religion and militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan, 29 June 2012, url, p. 38
329 CSIS, Religion and militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan, 29 June 2012, url, p. 39
330 Hussain, Z., Frontline Pakistan, The struggle with militant Islam, 2007, p. 92
331 BBC News, Profile: Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, 11 January 2013, url; Stanford University, Mapping Militant Organizations.
“Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.”, last updated: July 2018, url
332 USDOS, Country Report on Terrorism 2019, 24 June 2020, url, p. 283
333 Reuters, Special Report: Pakistan's threat within - the Sunni-Shia divide, 24 October 2012, url; National (The), Pakistanarrests 97 Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militants, 12 February 2016, url; Guardian (The), Pakistan military intelligence
under fire for failing to prevent Quetta bombing, 18 February 2013, url
334 USDOS, Country Report on Terrorism 2019, 24 June 2020, url, p. 183
335 RFE/RL, Pakistan's Army Kills Commander Of Islamist Militant Group In Balochistan, 17 May 2018, url
336 LWJ, State designates leader of Lashkar-e-Jhanghvi as global terrorist, 6 February 2014, url

36

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

have either been killed, including Malik Ishaq in 2015337, or captured in 2017, like Naeem
Bukhari.338 On 19 January 2017, LeJ’s commander Asif Chotu was killed in an encounter with law
enforcement agencies.339 In May 2018, security forces killed the commander of LeJ’s Balochistan
chapter Salman Badeni.340 According to PIPS, in 2019, LeJ has further lost its operational strength.341
In its 2019 annual security report, PIPS mentioned that ‘several reports indicated that LeJ is once
again focusing on Karachi’.342 PIPS reported in its annual report of 2020 that law enforcement
agencies arrested multiple suspected LeJ leaders and members.343 In 2020, PIPS stated that LeJ was
responsible for one ‘terrorist attack’, compared to eight in 2019.344
Lashkar-e Jhangvi Al-Alami (LJA)
Over the past decade, LeJ broke up in different factions as a result of the military operations of the
Pakistan state.345 One of those factions is LeJ Al-Alami (LJA)346, designated by Pakistan as a ‘terrorist
organisation’ in November 2016.347 The main difference between LeJ and LJA is that LeJ only targets
minority groups whilst LJA also carries out attacks on law enforcement agencies and government
installations.348 In January 2017, the Jamestown Foundation reported that the group was led by
Yousaf Mansoor Khurasani.349 In 2020, PIPS did not mention any attack claimed by LJA.350
Lashkar-e Islam (LI)
LI is a militant group that is active in Khyber district.351 The government of Pakistan banned LI in
June 2008.352 Pakistani military operations reportedly crippled the group’s operational capabilities in
Khyber district. As a result, members of LI relocated to Afghanistan.353 It has been reported that LI
works together with ISKP in Afghanistan and is considered an ‘important ally’.354 Source states that
he was at enmity with many because he repeatedly formed new alliances, among others with the
TTP, ISKP but also with the Afghan government-backed militia Arbaki in Nangarhar, Afghanistan.355 In
January 2021, Mangal Bagh was killed in a mine blast in the province of Nangarhar in Afghanistan.356
According to PIPS annual report 2020, the TTP tried to incorporate the LI into the group.357 In 2020,
PIPS documented one ‘terrorist attack’ in Khyber district, compared to two in 2019.358

337 LWJ, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi emir killed in shootout with Pakistani police, 29 July 2015, url
338 Daily Times, LeJ leads international terrorist organisations in Pakistan, 10 March 2017, url
339 Express Tribune (The), Sheikhupura raid: LeJ chief Asif Chotu, three aides killed in gunfight, 19 January 2017, url
340 Nation (The), Security forces kill senior Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militant in Balochistan raid, 17 May 2018, url
341 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2018, 6 January 2019, url, p. 73
342 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 68
343 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 83
344 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 71; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021 url,

p. 83
345 RFE/RL, Pakistani Extremists Carve A Sanctuary In Southern Afghanistan, 23 January 2017, url
346 Jamestown Foundation (The), ‘Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami: A Pakistani Partner for Islamic State’, 27 January 2017, url
347 Daily Times, From sectarian to anti-state outfit, journey of al-Alami, 2 April 2017, url
348 Daily Times, From sectarian to anti-state outfit, journey of al-Alami, 2 April 2017, url
349 Jamestown Foundation (The), ‘Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami: A Pakistani Partner for Islamic State’, 27 January 2017, url
350 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021 url
351 Stanford University, Mapping Militant Organizations. “Lashkar-e-Islam.”, last updated: August 2019, url
352 Dawn, Pakistan bans 25 militant organisations, 6 August 2009, url; Express Tribune (The), List of banned organisations inPakistan, 24 October 2012, url
353 PIPS, Security Report 2016, 10 January 2017, url, p. 68
354 RSIS, Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, Annual Threat Assessment-South Asia, January 2019, Counter Terrorist
Trends and Analyses, url, p. 37; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2018, 6 January 2019, url, p. 75
355 International News (The), Mangal Bagh killed in Afghanistan, 29 January 2021, url
356 Gandhara, Pakistani Militant Leader Killed In Afghanistan, 28 January 2021, url
357 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 80
358 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 69; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url,
p. 80

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Sipah-e Muhammad Pakistan (SMP)
SMP is a Shia militant group whose aim is to protect the Shia community and target hostile Sunni
Deobandi organisations such as SSP and LeJ.359 SMP is an armed offshoot of a mainstream Shia
political party, the Tehrik-Nifaz-e-Fiqh-e-Jafaria (TNFJ).360 The origins are unclear, but it was probably
founded around 1993 by Maulana Mureed Abbas Yazdani. SMP was banned in Pakistan inAugust 2001.361
According to PIPS, in 2020 the group was found involved in one ‘terrorist attack’ in Karachi,
compared to two in 2019.362
Jaish-e Muhammad (JeM)
JeM was founded late 2000 by former Harakat ul-Mujahideen leader Masood Azhar.363 USDOS statedin June 2020 that ‘the group aims to annex the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan and
expel international forces from Afghanistan. JeM has openly declared war against the UnitedStates.’364 JeM and the Pakistani army have been accused of having an alliance.365 According toPakistani security analyst, Azaz Syed, cited by Farhan Zahid in an article of 2019, JeM has an
estimated strength of 40 000 militants.366 JeM has relations with multiple militant groups operatingin Pakistan such as the TTP and LeJ. The structure of the organisation can be categorised as cellbased and operates in Pakistan Punjab’s southern districts.367 According to a May 2020 UN Security
Council report, citing Afghan interlocutors, ‘JeM and Lashkar-e Taiba (LeT) facilitate the trafficking ofterrorist fighters into Afghanistan, who act as advisers, trainers and specialists in improvised
explosive devices’.368
JeM was also active in Indian Kashmir since the Pathankot airbase attack in 2016. Since then, it
steadily increased its presence and activities in Kashmir according to security analysts.369 On
14 February 2019, JeM carried out an attack on a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel in
Pulwama in Indian-administrated Kashmir. In this attack, referred to as the Pulwama attack, 46
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed and 80 others wounded.370 India blamed
Pakistan for this attack, which triggered an escalation of tensions between the two countries.371 The
leader of JeM, Masood Azhar was placed on the list of ‘global terrorists’ by the United Nations on
1 May 2019.372

359 Dawn, Pakistan bans 25 militant organisations, 6 August 2009, url
360 Jamestown Foundation (The), ‘Sipah-e-Sahaba: Fomenting Sectarian Violence in Pakistan’, 5 May 2005, url
361 Express Tribune (The), List of banned organisations in Pakistan, 24 October 2012, url
362 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 71; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url,

p. 83
363 Zahid, F., Profile of Jaish-e-Muhammad and Leader Masood Azhar, April 2019, Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses,
url, pp. 1-2
364 USDOS, Country Report on Terrorism 2019, 24 June 2020, url, p. 276
365 Lowy Institute, Pakistan and Jaish-e-Mohammad: An unholy alliance, 7 July 2017, url; Diplomat (The), Jaish-eMohammed: Under the Hood, 13 March 2019, url
366 Zahid, F., Profile of Jaish-e-Muhammad and Leader Masood Azhar, April 2019, Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses,
url, p. 5
367 Zahid, F., Profile of Jaish-e-Muhammad and Leader Masood Azhar, April 2019, Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses,
url, p. 5
368 UN Security Council, Letter dated 19 May 2020 from the Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant
to resolution 1988 (2011) addressed to the President of the Security Council, 27 May 2020, url, para. 81
369 Basit, A. and Mahmood, S., Implications of Possible United States Withdrawal on the South Asian Militant Landscape,April 2019, Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, url, p. 21
370 BBC News, Pulwama attack: India will 'completely isolate' Pakistan, 15 February 2019, url; Zahid, F., Profile of Jaish-eMuhammad and Leader Masood Azhar, April 2019, Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, url, p. 1
371 Zahid, F., Profile of Jaish-e-Muhammad and Leader Masood Azhar, April 2019, Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses,
url, p. 1
372 Al Jazeera, UN puts Pakistani armed group chief Masood Azhar on 'terror' list, 1 May 2019, url

38

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Lashkar-e Taiba (LeT)
LeT was founded in the late 1980s as a ‘terrorist’373 and military wing of the religious organisation
Markaz Dawa-ul-Irshad.374 The group was founded by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who was during thereporting period its current leader.375 In the 1990s, the ISI established close relationships withgroups such as LeT376, and the group reportedly received clandestine support by elements ofPakistani military and intelligence services.377 In 2001, LeT was designated ‘as a Foreign Terrorist
Organisation (FTO)’ by the US. To circumvent sanctions, Saeed changed the group’s name to Jamaatud-Dawa (JUD)378, however, the group continues to operate in the country through its charitableorganisations, including Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD).379 LeT aims to unite Kashmir with Pakistan andimpose Sharia law rule in South Asia.380 It is based in Punjab and present in both Indian and Pakistanadministered Kashmir.381 LeT is considered ‘one of the most prominent armed groups operating on
Pakistani soil’, reportedly ‘sending fighters across the Line of Control into Indian-administered
Kashmir’; the group has carried out several attacks against the Indian security forces. In 2018, it wasblamed for the Mumbai attacks that killed over 160 people.382 According to Indian government
source, the group has 129 active fighters in Indian-administered Kashmir. LeT claims to maintainover 2 000 offices in Pakistan383, however the group does not conduct attacks against Pakistan.384 In
2018, members of the group ran as independent candidates in Pakistani elections.385 According to a
January 2021 report of the Brookings institution, in recent years the Pakistan government has taken
action against LeT in light of the monitoring of terrorism financing by the Financial Action Task Force(FATF).386
Nationalist movements in Sindh
The Sindhi nationalist groups include the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz-Aresar (JSQM-A) group, theSindhu Desh Liberation Army (SDLA), also known as Sindhu Desh Liberation Front (SDLF), and the
Sindhu Desh Revolutionary Army (SDRA).387 According to a July 2020 report by Muhammed Amir
Rana, a security analyst, the activities of these groups have increased since the outbreak of COVID19 in Pakistan.388 According to PIPS annual report 2020 these ‘groups have a history of perpetratingsporadic low-intensity, low-impact attacks. However, in 2020 they managed to create some impact
both in terms of number and in terms of intensity of the attacks they launched. Half of the attacks bySindhi insurgents targeted security forces.’389 In May 2020, the Pakistan government banned the
JSQM-A group, the SDLA, and the SDRA under the Ant-Terrorism Act 1997.390

373 USDOS, Country reports on Terrorism 2019, 24 June 2020, url
374 EFSAS, Pakistan Army and Terrorism; an unholy alliance, n.d., url; FAS, Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (Army of theRighteous), n.d., url
375 Al Jazeera, Explainer: Who are Kashmir's armed groups?, 3 March 2019, url
376 BBC News, Hafiz Saeed: Will Pakistan's 'terror cleric' stay in jail?, 13 February 2020, url
377 CEP, Pakistan: Extremism and Terrorism, n.d., url
378 USDOS, Country reports on Terrorism 2019, 24 June 2020, url
379 Al Jazeera, Explainer: Who are Kashmir's armed groups?, 3 March 2019, url; CEP, Pakistan: Extremism and Terrorism,
n.d., url; CIA, World Factbook, Pakistan, url
380 CIA, World Factbook, Pakistan, url
381 CIA, World Factbook, Pakistan, url
382 Al Jazeera, Explainer: Who are Kashmir's armed groups?, 3 March 2019, url
383 EFSAS, Pakistan Army and Terrorism; an unholy alliance, n.d., url
384 CEP, Pakistan: Extremism and Terrorism, n.d., url; CIA, World Factbook, Pakistan, url
385 Al Jazeera, Explainer: Who are Kashmir's armed groups?, 3 March 2019, url
386 Brookings, Terrorism in Pakistan has declined, but the underlying roots of extremism remain, 15 January 2021, url
387 International News (The), Sindhi separatist JSQM-A, militant groups SRA, SLA approved for banning, 8 May 2020, url
388 Amir Rana, M., Terrorism in Pakistan under Covid-19, NIOC, 24 July 2020, url, p. 12
389 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 87
390 International News (The), Sindhi separatist JSQM-A, militant groups SRA, SLA approved for banning, 8 May 2020, url

39

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Sindhu Desh Liberation Army (SDLA)
According to Muhammed Amir Rana, a security analyst, the SDLA had ties with the Jeay Sindh
Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM)391, a Sindhi nationalist party headed by Shafi Brat, who lives in exile inEurope.392 The SDLA reportedly collaborated with the BLA and BLF in targeting Chinese nationals.393
According to PIPS, the SDLA carried out one attack in 2020.394
Sindhu Desh Revolutionary Army (SDRA)
Syed Asghar Shah, a leader within the SDLA, left the group after growing differences with Shafi
Burfat over funds and leadership.395 Syed Asghar Shah established the SDRA in 2010.396 On
25 July 2020, the Baloch Raji Ajoi Sangar (BRAS) announced an operational alliance with the SDRA.
Fahad Nabeel, a senior research associate at the Centre for Strategic and Contemporary Research(CSCR), stated that the strength of this alliance is estimated at approximately 1 000 to 2 000
militants.397 A June 2020 article by Tushar Ranjan Mohanty, a researcher working for South Asian
Terrorism Portal (SATP), mentioned that since its formation in 2010, the SDRA was involved inthirteen attacks.398 On 5 August 2020, a grenade explosion targeted a political rally in Karachi. At
least 39 people were injured. The SDRA claimed responsibility for the attack.399 At the end of
December 2020, the SDRA claimed two attacks against Chinese nationals in Karachi.400 According to
PIPS, the SDRA carried out eight attacks in 2020.401
Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz-Aresar (JSQM-A)
The JSMQ-A was founded in 2006 by Abdul Wahid Arisar, who died in 2015. It is led by Aslam
Khairpuri.402 The JSMQ-A is a faction of the Jeay Sindh Tehreek (JST), ‘a self-proclaimed “non-violent
movement” founded by legendary GM Syed’.403
Nationalist movements in Balochistan
PIPS 2020 annual security situation report stated that there are approximately six Baloch nationalist
movements active in Balochistan.404 In 2020, the attacks claimed by Baloch militants were lessfrequent compared to 2019 but included ‘more high-impact attacks’. According to PIPS, the Baloch
movements expanded their areas of operations. They showed a presence in Quetta and werefocusing on south and southwestern Balochistan.405 A September 2020 ACLED report stated that,since the start of 2020, ACLED recorded ‘a rise in organized political violence events involving armed
Baloch separatist groups’. The report of ACLED mentioned: ‘greater unity among Baloch separatistgroups, the formation of trans-province alliances between Baloch separatist groups and other

391 Amir Rana, M., Terrorism in Pakistan under Covid-19, NIOC, 24 July 2020, url, p. 13
392 News on Sunday (The), A new wave of terror, 5 July 2020, url; Mohanty Ranjan, T., Pakistan: Sindh: Hardening

Separatism, 29 June 2020, SAIR, volume 19, no. 1, url
393 Nabeel, F., Interpreting BRAS-SRA Alliance, 27 July 2020, CSRC, url
394 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 81
395 Amir Rana, M., Terrorism in Pakistan under Covid-19, NIOC, 24 July 2020, url, p. 13
396 Mohanty Ranjan, T., Pakistan: Sindh: Hardening Separatism, 29 June 2020, SAIR, volume 19, no. 1, url
397 Nabeel, F., Interpreting BRAS-SRA Alliance, 27 July 2020, CSCR, url
398 Mohanty Ranjan, T., Pakistan: Sindh: Hardening Separatism, 29 June 2020, SAIR, volume 19, no. 1, url
399 Al Jazeera, Dozens wounded in grenade attack at pro-Kashmir Karachi rally, 5 August 2020, url
400 Nikkei Asia, Pakistani militants shift focus to cities in targeting of Chinese, 27 December 2020, url
401 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 81
402 International News (The), Sindhi separatist JSQM-A, militant groups SRA, SLA approved for banning, 8 May 2020, url
403 News on Sunday (The), The crackdown intensifies, 7 June 2020, url
404 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 85
405 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 85

40

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

separatist groups, and increased exploitation and repression of Baloch civilians by Pakistan’s militaryduring security operations in Balochistan’.406
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA)
The objective of the BLA is an independent Balochistan, free of Pakistani and Iranian rule. Because ofits violent methods, such as bomb attacks, it was banned in Pakistan in April 2006.407 The BLA firstemerged in the late 1990s.408 PIPS stated on the other hand that the BLA has ‘two offshoots’. One
group is led by Harbiyar Marri and another group is comprised of insurgents who were led by Aslam
Achu409 until he was killed in Afghanistan in December 2018.410 Aslam Achu has set up the Majeed
Brigade which, according to Ghandara, is a ‘suicide squad’.411 The Majeed Brigade is an elite unit
within the BLA.412 Security analyst Abdul Basit stated that the BLA has become the main threat to the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The BLA has a physical strength of 2 000 to 3 000 militants andhas a capability to operate out of Afghanistan, in Iran and in Balochistan’s mountainous areas.413 In
July 2019, USDOS designated the BLA as a terrorist organisation.414
PIPS stated that the BLA carried out 19 ‘terrorist attacks’ in Balochistan in 2020, which represents a
decrease compared to 2019 when they carried out 27 attacks.415 The majority of the attacks in 2020
took place in Balochistan (17 attacks) while one took place in southern Punjab and one in Karachi.416
According to media reports, the BLA carried out multiple attacks on security forces in Balochistan in
the first half of 2021.417
The Baloch Liberation Front (BLF)
The BLF is an insurgent group, led by Allah Nazar Baloch.418 In 2017, it was reported that this group
operated across Balochistan, and is primarily active in the Makran belt.419 The BLF was banned in
September 2010.420 In October 2017, the BLF accused local journalists of collaborating with the
Pakistani army, and also threatened and boycotted the local media.421 According to PIPS 2019 annual
report, the BLF has its base in the central and south-western districts of Balochistan. The group hasgone into hiding, either in the areas close to the Iranian border or across the border in Iran or
Afghanistan.422

406 ACLED, Rising Organized Political Violence in Balochistan: A Resurgence of Baloch Separatism?, 4 September 2020, url
407 Dawn, Pakistan bans 25 militant organisations, 6 August 2009, url
408 Gandhara, Baluch Separatist Insurgency Torn By Internal Conflict Over Class, 4 July 2020, url
409 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 93
410 Nabeel, F., Aslam Baloch’s killing: Implications for Balochistan Insurgency, CSCR, 28 December 2018, url
411 Gandhara, Baluch Separatist Insurgency Torn By Internal Conflict Over Class, 4 July 2020, url
412 Balochistan Post (The), TBP Report: Majeed Brigade – The Inside Story, 20 July 2020, url
413 Basit, A., Attacks on Chinese nationals and interests in Pakistan are likely to continue. Here’s why, South China Morning,

27 November 2018, url
414 RFE/RL, U.S. Designates Pakistan's Balochistan Liberation Army As Terrorist Group, 3 July 2019, url
415 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 73; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url,
p. 85
416 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 85
417 Al Jazeera, Several killed in two attacks in Pakistan’s southwest, 1 June 2021, url; IBG News, The BLA accepts
responsibility for the bombing on a Pakistani army vehicle in Kohlu and the killing off our personnel, 29 May 2021, url
418 South China Morning Post (Basit, A.), Attacks on Chinese nationals and interests in Pakistan are likely to continue. Here’s
why, 27 November 2018, url
419 RFE/RL, Pakistan’s Balochistan Conflict Reverberates In Europe, 7 December 2017, url
420 Express Tribune (The), List of banned organisations in Pakistan, 24 October 2012, url
421 BBC News, Balochistan journalists caught 'between the stick and the gun', 26 November 2017, url
422 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 94

41

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

In 2020, the BLF claimed responsibility for five ‘terrorist attacks’ compared to 11 in 2019.423 All 2020
attacks were carried out in the district of Kech in Balochistan and all attacks targeted the security
forces.424
The Baloch Republican Army (BRA)
The BRA is the militant wing of the separatist Baloch Republican Party (BRP) and was reportedly
headed by Brahumdagh Bugti at the end of 2018.425 In September 2010, the Pakistani government
banned the BRA.426 The most prominent BRA attack was in January 2015 against the electricity
network of Pakistan, which caused a blackout in 80 % of Pakistan.427
In 2020, the BRA carried out three ‘terrorist attacks’ compared to six attacks in 2019. The attacks in2020 occurred in Dera Bugti and Nasirabad districts of Balochistan.428
United Baloch Army (UBA)The UBA is a nationalist insurgent group in Balochistan and a splinter group of the BLA.429 In 2015,
the UBA was led by Mehran Marri.430 The Balochistan Post reported in February 2018 that the BRA,
the UBA and the Lashkar-e-Balochistan (LB) work together for an independent Balochistan.431
According to PIPS 2020 annual security report, the group re-emerged in 2020. PIPS documented two
attacks in 2020 Bolan and Nushki districts. These attacks were directed against the security forces.432
Baloch Raji Ajoi Sangar (BRAS)
The Baloch Raji Ajoi Sangar (BRAS), also known as the Baloch People Liberation Coalition, is acoalition of the BLA, the BLF and the Baloch Republican Guards after publicly disagreeing for years.
This coalition was launched in November 2018. According to an article published by CSCR,‘unification and consolidation of the national strength is the only way forward to get rid of Pakistanioccupation of Balochistan.’ The coalition aims to direct ‘coordinated attacks against Pakistani
military, Chinese interests in Balochistan and CPEC sites’.433 According to the Pakistani Foreign
Minister, training and logistical camps are established in the Iranian region bordering Pakistan.434
Farhan Zahid, a security analyst, stated in September 2019 that the group operates in the southwestern part of Balochistan and has ‘safe havens’ in Kacha, DG Khan and Koh Suleman. The primarytargets of BRAS are Chinese workers and CPEC projects in Balochistan. BRAS also targeted militaryand paramilitary security force personnel near the Makran coast.435 On 25 July 2020, BRAS
announced an operational alliance with the SDRA.436

423 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 73; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url,

p. 86
424 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 86
425 South China Morning Post (Basit, A.), Attacks on Chinese nationals and interests in Pakistan are likely to continue. Here’s
why, 27 November 2018, url
426 Dawn, Five Baloch militant outfits banned, 9 September 2010, url
427 BBC News, Pakistan works on power blackout after 'rebel attack', 26 January 2015, url; Diplomat (The), Understanding
Pakistan’s Baloch Insurgency, 24 June 2015, url
428 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 73; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url,
p. 86
429 RFE/RL, Pakistan’s Balochistan Conflict Reverberates In Europe, 7 December 2017, url; Dawn, Situationer: Who’s who of
Baloch insurgency, 1 June 2015, url
430 Dawn, Situationer: Who’s who of Baloch insurgency, 1 June 2015, url
431 Balochistan Post (The), Baloch pro-freedom groups to work unitedly, 25 February 2018, url
432 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 86
433 Nabeel, F., Identity as a Pretext of Terror: Brief Backgrounder of Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar, CSCR 18 April 2019, url
434 Reuters, Pakistan asks Iran to act on militants behind Baluchistan killings, 20 April 2019, url
435 Zahid, F., Baluch Raji Ajohi Sangar: Emergence of a New Baluch Separatist Alliance, 20 September 2019, url
436 Nabeel, F., Interpreting BRAS-SRA Alliance, 27 July 2020, CSCR, url

42Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

According to PIPS, the group was responsible for one attack in 2020.437 In October 2020, BRAS
claimed to have killed seven military personnel of the Frontier Corps and as many civilian guards in
the Ormara area of Gwadar district.438

1.3 Recent security trends and armed confrontations
1.3.1 Security incidents
In the first two sub-sections below, the number of security incidents by ACLED, PIPS and PICSS aredescribed for 2020 and the first seven months of 2021 respectively. Due to different methodologies
used by these three sources, the number of security incidents reported below are described pereach source for ease of comparison. For more detailed information on the methodology applied by
the sources, see the Introduction.
In general, according to PIPS annual security report 2021, covering 2020, the overall security
situation improved in 2020 compared to previous years.439 According to PICSS annual security reportcovering 2020, an increase in violence was observed in 2020.440 If compared the ACLED data fromJanuary to July 2020 with January to July 2021, then it is illustrated that there is an increase in
security incidents in 2021 (see Figure 1 and Figure 2).
Security incidents in 2020
According to ACLED441, there were 483 security incidents442 recorded in Pakistan in 2020: 270 werecoded as battles, 100 as explosions/remote violence and 113 as violence against civilians. Most
security incidents occurred in the month of July 2020 (63 security incidents), followed by November
2020 (56 incidents) and September 2020 (49 incidents).443

437 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 86
438 Dawn, 20 security personnel martyred in two attacks, 16 October 2020, url
439 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 11
440 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url
441 For a description of this source, see the Introduction
442 Security incidents: the event types battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; ACLED, About

Acled, n.d., url; For more information on ACLED methodology, see ACLED Codebook, url
443 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;
Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2020-31 December 2020), update
3 September 2021, url

43Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

See Figure 1 for an evolution of the security incidents in 2020 in Pakistan by ACLED.

Figure 1. Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians in 2020 inPakistan, based on ACLED data 445

In 2020, PICSS444 In 2020 PICS445 recorded 333 security incidents including 187 caused by militants
and 149 by the Pakistani government, in which 429 people were killed: 165 militants, 127 civilians
and 137 security forces personnel.446 A total of 619 people were injured including 454 civilians, 16
militants and 149 security forces personnel. Compared to 2019, this represents a 23 % increase in
the number of incidents (270 in 2019).447
PIPS448 documented 373 incidents of violence in 2020. The overall incidents of violence resulted in
503 deaths and 851 injured. 146 incidents of these incidents of violence were labelled as ‘terrorist
attacks’449, according to PIPS. Compared to 2019, the overall number of people killed in these violent
incidents decreased by approximately 14 % (433 incidents of violence in 2019).450

444 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;

Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2020-31 December 2020), update
3 September 2021, url
445 For a description of this source, see the Introduction
446 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 1, p. 3
447 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 1, p. 3; PICSS, Annual Security Assessment
Report 2019, 9 January 2020, url, p. 12
448 For a description of this source, see the Introduction
449 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 21-22
450 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 21-22

44

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Security incidents 1 January 2021 – 31 July 2021
In the first seven months of 2021, ACLED recorded 459 security incidents in Pakistan: 194 battles,
123 explosions/remote violence and 142 incidents of violence against civilians. Most security
incidents occurred in the month of June 2021 (83 security incidents), followed by May 2021 (76incidents) and March 2021 (70 incidents).451 See

Figure 21 for an evolution of the security incidents the first seven months of 2021 in Pakistan by
ACLED.
Figure 21. Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians in the firstseven months of 2021 in Pakistan, based on ACLED data452

In the period from 1 January 2021 - 31 July 2021, PICSS recorded 263 incidents of anti-state violenceby militants (141) and ‘security forces actions’ by the Pakistani government (122), in which 313
people were killed (94 militants, 111 civilians, and 108 security forces personnel).453 A total of 341
people were injured including 221 civilians, 8 militants and 112 security forces personnel.454
In the period from 1 January 2021 - 31 July 2021, PIPS documented 158 incidents of violence,
resulting in 300 deaths and 765 injured. Of the total 158 incidents of violence, 97 incidents werelabelled as ‘terrorist attacks’, according to PIPS.455

451 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;

Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021), update 3
September 2021, url
452 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;
Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021), update 3
September 2021, url
453 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
454 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
455 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS

45

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

1.3.2 Nature of security incidents
GeneralThe nature of the violence in 2020 and in the first seven months of 2021 was diverse and is
described in detail in the following sections. The 2020 annual security situation report by PIPS listed
a breakdown of the nature of the violent incidents and the number of casualties in 2020 (see Figure
3.).
Nature of violent incidents

Incidents

Persons killed

Persons injured‘Terrorist attacks’

146

220

547

Political / ethnic violence

1

0

5

Clashes & encounters between
security forces & militants

15

38

6

Cross-border clashes/attacks

125

62

222

Operational attacks by sec. forces

47

146

22

Sectarian clashes

1

2

0

Inter-militant clashes/attacks

3

4

10

Communal/faith –based clashes

8

6

3

Plot/foiled terror attempts

14

1

0

Targeted attacks (not clear if byterrorists)

11

14

1

Protests/clashes with security forces

2

10

35

Total 2020

373

503

851

2020

Figure 3. Breakdown nature of all incidents of violence in 2020, based on PIPS data456

Figure presents a breakdown of the nature of violent incidents and the number of casualties
recorded by PIPS in the first seven months of 2021.

Nature of violent incidents

Incidents

Persons killed

Persons injured‘Terrorist attacks’

97

180

295

Political / ethnic violence

1

2

6

1 January 2021 – 31 July 2021

456 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 21-22

46

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Clashes & encounters between
security forces & militants

3

7

1

Cross-border clashes/attacks

16

10

23

Operational attacks by sec. forces

31

87

8

Inter-militant clashes/attacks

0

0

0

Communal/faith- based violence

3

0

8

Plot/foiled terror attempts

2

0

0

Recovery of dead bodies

1

1

0

Targeted attacks (not by ‘terrorists’)

1

1

0

Protests/clashes with security forces

3

12

415

Total 1 January 2021 – 31 July 2021

158

300

756

Figure 4. Breakdown of the nature of all violent incidents in the period 1 January 2021-31 July 2021 based on PIPS data457

In the following sections the nature of the violent incidents in Pakistan is described in detail. For
further information on the varying numbers of civilian casualties and the various methodologies
used by these research institutions, see the Introduction and 1.4.1 Figures on casualties in 2020 and
1.4.2 Figures on casualties 1 January 2021 - 31 July 2021.
Security operations and armed clashes
In the past, the Pakistan armed forces conducted major security operations in the country. These
operations are described below. In addition, a description of the nature of security operations in2019 and the first half of 2021 is provided.
Operation Zarb-e Azb
On 15 June 2014, Operation Zarb-e Azb was launched by the Pakistani armed forces in the provinceof KP and in the former FATA. The purpose of the operation was to target the militants in North
Waziristan.458 Operation Zarb-e Azb reduced the levels of militant violence, but at the cost of highlevels of violence on behalf of security forces that also affected the civilian population.459 Most areas
were cleared from militants, except for a few pockets and sleeper cells. Therefore, the Pakistanistate has regained public trust to some extent, but the operation was conducted in a violent
manner. The operation also caused internal displacement.460 Critics of the operation claim it did not
destroy the TTP, who were able to relocate to Afghanistan to carry out attacks from there.461
Operation Radd-Ul Fasaad
Operation Radd-Ul Fasaad was launched on 22 February 2017, after a series of attacks in the country
in the beginning of 2017. This operation has not been confined to one area, but it was carried out
across the country.462 The operation is aimed at eliminating the threat of terrorism and at
457 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
458 Zulfqar, S., An Overview of Pakistan’s Security Situation after Operation Zarb-e-Azb, Islamabad Policy Research Institute,

October 2017, url, pp. 117-118
459 Diplomat (The), Pakistan’s Counterterrorism Operation: Myth vs. Reality, 27 June 2016, url; BBC News, Uncovering
Pakistan's secret human rights abuses, 2 June 2019, url; Diplomat (The), The Pakistani Taliban is Back, 9 March 2021, url
460 Dawn, Nearly 40pc IDPs have returned to North Waziristan, army chief told, 19 December 2015, url
461 Diplomat (The), Pakistan’s Counterterrorism Operation: Myth vs. Reality, 27 June 2016, url; Diplomat (The), The
Pakistani Taliban is Back, 9 March 2021, url
462 Express Tribune (The), Army launches Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad against terrorists across the country, 22 February 2017,url

47

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

consolidating the gains of other military operations. It also aimed at ensuring the security ofPakistan's borders. The operation included the involvement of Pakistan’s air force, Pakistan’s navy,
Pakistan’s police and other civil armed forces.463 The Rangers were given ‘special powers’ to operatein Lahore and different parts in the province of Punjab.464 The strategy of the operation is to useIntelligence-Based Operations (IBOs). ‘IBOs use[d] information from multiple intelligence agencies tofind and eliminate militant hideouts across the country.’ Operation Radd-Ul Fasaad failed to prevent
militant attacks on security forces and civilians.465 This military operation led to criticism that somegroups such as Pashtuns, including Afghan migrants in the country, were indiscriminately
targeted.466 In February 2020, a defence analyst stated in the Express Tribune that the operation‘help[ed] Pakistan to establish complete control over tribal areas’.467 In February 2021, an army
general stated that in the last four years more than 375 000 IBOs were conducted in the country.468
Operation Khyber-IV
In July 2017, the Pakistani army launched Operation Khyber-IV to clear Rajgal Valley of militants in
Khyber tribal district.469 The main goal of Operation Khyber-IV was to eradicate the threat of IS in
Khyber tribal district, although security forces also targeted other militant groups and focused on
the border security at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.470 The Pakistani army announced thecompletion of Operation Khyber-IV on 21 August 2017.471
Security operations 2020 and 2021
According to PIPS, security operations and armed clashes were reported in all four provinces ofPakistan in 2020.472 Security forces carried out 47 operations and raids against militants in 2020,
compared to 28 operations and raids against militants in 2019.473 Most of these operational strikes
in 2020 were carried out in KP (28, followed by Balochistan (15) and two each in Punjab and Sindh.474
According to PIPS, 146 people were killed (compared to 81 in 2019), including 129 militants and 17
security forces personnel.475
Besides these operational attacks, security forces engaged also in 15 armed clashes with militants in2020 compared to 25 armed clashes in 2019.476 The armed clashes in 2020 claimed 38 lives (29militants, 7 security forces personnel and two civilians).477
PIPS stated that in the first seven months of 2021, the security forces carried out 31 operations
against militants. According to PIPS, 87 people were killed and 8 injured. Besides these operational
attacks, security forces engaged in one armed clash with militants in the first seven months of 2021.
PIPS mentioned for the same timeframe also two encounters of militants with security forces.478

463 Dawn, Pakistan Army launches 'Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad' across the country, 22 February 2017, url
464 AI, Pakistan: Wave of violence shows a horrific disregard for human life, 23 February 2017, url
465 Critical Threats, Pakistan’s Counter-Militant Offensive: Operation Raddul Fasaad, 25 August 2017, url
466 Express Tribune (The), Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad: ‘Punjab police focus on Pakhtuns and Afghans’, 4 March 2017, url
467 Express Tribune (The), In three years, Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad has cleansed Pakistan, 22 February 2020, url
468 International News (The), Every Pakistani is a soldier of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad: DG ISPR, 22 February 2021, url
469 Dawn, Army launches Operation Khyber-4 in Rajgal Valley, 16 July 2017, url
470 PIPS, Security Report 2017, 7 January 2018, url, pp. 98-99
471 Express Tribune (The), Rajgal cleansed of terrorists as military concludes Operation Khyber-IV, 21 August 2017, url
472 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 26
473 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 25
474 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 26
475 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 25-26
476 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 26; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2018, 6 January 2019, url,

p. 23
477 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 26
478 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS

48

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

According to an academic expert of terrorism in South Asia, the response of the Pakistan security
forces in reaction to the security situation in 2021 was the following:‘Pakistani armed forces have pursued an aggressive tempo of policing and targeting ofmilitant actors in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh. In former tribal areas and parts ofBaluchistan, Pakistani authorities have engaged in collective punishment practices in regions
where IED or other terror attacks take place. Pakistani authorities seek to demobilize
members of various terrorist groups and use them in pro-state militaries incounterinsurgency/counterterrorism operations or other militant groups. Pakistaniauthorities detain terrorism suspects, political dissidents and select journalists outside thepurview of law – referred to in local media as the “missing persons” phenomenon. Pakistan
is pursuing a covert assassination program against the anti-state TTP leaders based in
Afghanistan.’479
On the question regarding what measures the Pakistan armed forces have taken to respond to thesecurity situation in 2021 in the KPTDs, Abdul Basit stated on 29 July 2021 the following:‘Border fencing, Intelligence Based Operations (IBOs), ongoing Operation Raddul Fasaad andreplacing the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) with regular army troops at the Pak-Afghanborder.’480
Attacks by militant groups
Militant groups continued to conduct attacks in 2020 and in the first seven months of 2021. Tactics
frequently used were targeted killings, different types of IEDs, suicide attacks, kidnappings, grenade
blasts, rocket attacks and sabotage acts.481
Figures on these attacks and a description of the most common tactics and weapons used bymilitants are provided below.
Figures of attacks by militant groups
According to PICSS 2020 annual report, 187 militant attacks occurred in 2020 compared to 159 in
2019, which is a slight increase. PICSS mentioned that in 2020 these militant attacks killed 154
people and injured 217. In terms of casualties there was a decline notable compared to 2019 (305killed, 662 injured in 2019).482
According to the PIPS 2020 annual security report, 146 ‘terrorist attacks’ were carried out by
militant, nationalist, insurgent and violent sectarian groups in Pakistan in 2020. This is a 36 %decrease compared to 2019 (229 ‘terrorist attacks’).483 PIPS mentioned that in 2020 those attacks
killed 220 and injured 547 people. The number of people killed decreased by 38 % compared to
2019.484
In the first seven months of 2021, PICSS observed 141 militant attacks. PICSS noticed that in thistimeframe these militant attacks killed 210 people and injured 332. Most targeted were civilians(109 killed and 221injured), followed by security force personnel (94 killed, 103 injured) andmilitants (7 killed, 8 injured).485

479 Academic expert of terrorism in South Asia, email, 22 July 2021
480 Basit, A., email, 29 July 2021
481 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021 url, p. 19; PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5January 2021, url, pp. 8-12
482 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 5
483 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 17; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url,
p. 17
484 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 17
485 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS

49

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

PIPS counted 97 ‘terrorist attacks’ in the first seven months of 2021. PIPS mentioned that in 2021
those attacks killed 180 and injured 295 people.486
Tactics and weapons used by militants
PICSS provides a breakdown of the tactics used by militants in 2020 in its annual report. PICSS
reported suicide attacks, IED attacks, militant assaults, targeted killings and kidnapping.487 PICSS
mentioned ‘during 2020 that the militants enhanced some types of tactics while some tactics saw
declining pattern’.488 The same tactics were also observed in the first half of 2021.489
In the following paragraphs the major tactics used by militants are explained in greater detail.
Suicide attacks
According to an overview by PICSS, since 2016 the number of suicide attacks carried out in Pakistan
is decreasing.490 The PICSS 2020 annual report stated that militants carried out four suicide attacks inwhich 26 people were killed and 43 were injured in 2020. According to PICSS, the number of suicide
attacks in 2020 decreased by 60 % compared to 2019 (10 suicide attacks).491 According to PIPS, threesuicide attacks took place in 2020 in which 26 people were killed and 43 injured.492 The CRSS 2020
annual report recorded two suicide attacks, in which 10 people were killed.493
Two out of the three suicide attacks counted by PIPS in 2020, occurred in the province of Balochistan(two), followed by one in the province of KP in South Waziristan tribal district.494
In the period from 1 January 2021 until 31 July 2021, PICSS observed one suicide attack in which 5
people were killed and 12 injured.495
Bomb explosions and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)
PIPS stated that in 2020 militants used various types of IEDs in 68 attacks compared to 123 attacks in
2019.496 PICSS reported that in 2020, 64 incidents with IEDs occurred in which 67 people were killed
and 331 were injured. The number of IED attacks decreased slightly in 2020 compared to 2019 (84IED attacks).497 CRSS reported that in 2020, 78 ‘explosive attacks’498 took place in which 130 people
were killed.499 The highest number of IED explosions in 2020 was recorded in tribal districts of theprovince of KP followed by the province of Balochistan according to PICSS.500 According to the 2020
annual report of FRC, the majority of the IED attacks in the tribal districts occurred in North andSouth Waziristan tribal districts.501

486 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
487 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, pp. 8-12
488 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 8
489 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
490 PICSS, Suicide Attacks in Pakistan Since 2001, 26 July 2021, url
491 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 8
492 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 61
493 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 19
494 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 61
495 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
496 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 18; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url,

p. 19
497 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url,, pp. 9-10
498 According to CRSS definition of explosive attacks: bombs, IEDs, landmines, accidental detonations, mortar, rocket
attacks, hand grenade attacks, cracker attacks, toy bombs, CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2020, url, p. 19
499 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2020, url, p. 19
500 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 9
501 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 15

50Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

In the period from 1 January 2021 until 31 July 2021, PICSS reported 46 incidents with IEDs in which
68 people were killed and 218 were injured. Civilians and security personnel were the victims of
IEDs.502
Targeted killings
According to PICSS, 49 targeted killings occurred in 2020. In these attacks, 64 people were killed and
10 injured. Compared to 2019 (24 targeted killings), the number of targeted killings doubled in 2020.
The majority of the casualties in 2020 were civilians. Most targeted killings occurred in the tribal
districts.503 PICSS stated that ‘The rise in target-killing is a major security challenge as it is directly
linked with a fear factor related to militants’ strategy’.504 CRSS stated that in the terrorist attacks
that occurred in 2020, 148 incidents were targeted killings in which 169 people were killed and 43
injured.505 FRC stated that targeted killings were ‘the most preferred tool of militants for carrying out
attacks against civilians in the tribal districts’.506 FRC documented 53 targeted killings in the tribal
districts.507
In the period from 1 January 2021 until 31 July 2021, PICSS mentioned 46 targeted killings in which
54 people were killed and 13 injured.508
Kidnappings
PICSS counted in 2020 ten kidnappings by militants. Compared to previous years, PICSS noted anincrease in kidnappings.509 The 2020 annual report by FRC recorded eight kidnappings for ransom in2020 in the tribal districts.510 FRC mentioned that militants make use of kidnapping for ransom andextortion for financing their activities.511
Abduction was reported as a method used by the Pakistani security establishment to silence anyone
who tried to question and expose their actions.512 A December 2020 article of The Guardian statedthat there were reports of abductions of suspected Islamic or separatist militants, political
opponents, activists, students, politicians, human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers.513
In the period from 1 January 2021 until 31 July 2021, PICSS counted in total three incidents ofkidnapping and killing.514
Sectarian-related violence
According to PIPS, seven incidents of sectarian-related violence occurred in 2020. Compared to2019, this is a decrease of 50 % (14 incidents in 2019).515 In 2020, 9 persons were killed and 14
persons were injured in those incidents.516 PIPS mentioned also that one sectarian clash occurred in
2020, in which two people were killed.517 Most of the sectarian attacks and clashes in 2020 were

502 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
503 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, pp. 10-11
504 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 11
505 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 15
506 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 14
507 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 14
508 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
509 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 12
510 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 18
511 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 18
512 Al Jazeera, Pakistani activist abduction sparks fear of crackdown on dissent, 6 June 2018, url
513 Guardian (The), Kidnap, torture, murder: the plight of Pakistan’s thousands of disappeared, 14 December 2020, url
514 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
515 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021 url, p. 17, p. 62; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January

2020, url, p. 17, p. 53
516 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 17
517 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 62

51

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

incidents of targeted killings or firing while two incidents were bomb blasts.518 Geographically, mostsectarian attacks occurred Karachi, followed by Kurram tribal district and Kohat district.519 The only
sectarian clash mentioned by PIPS occurred in Rahim Yar Khan.520
In contrast, CRSS documented 138 sectarian-related casualties in 2020 with 55 killed and 83
wounded.521 Balochistan and KP were the provinces where most of these casualties occurred in2020.522 CRSS noted that the Sunni community suffered the most casualties in 2020.523
In the period from 1 January 2021 until 31 July 2021, PIPS counted one sectarian-related ‘terrorist
attacks’. In this incident, one person was injured.524 In the first quarter of 2021 counted CRSS in total
17 casualties of sectarian violence. CRSS mentioned that most of the sectarian violence in the firstquarter of 2021 occurred in Balochistan and Sindh.525 In the second quarter of 2021, CRSS
documented 808 (7 killed, 801 injured) casualties of sectarian violence. Most of the casualties werefrom violence that erupted during the protest staged by the TLP in the month of April 2021.526
Political violence
In 2020, PIPS counted four attacks on political leaders/workers in which 39 people were injured. No
one was killed.527 Political leaders and workers were targeted in attacks in Bajaur tribal district,Peshawar and Karachi. The TTP, HUA, the SDRA and an unknown militant group perpetrated these
attacks.528
In the period from 1 January 2021 until 31 July 2021, PIPS recorded one incident of political/ethnic
violence.529
Border attacks
In 2020, PIPS counted in total 125 cross-border attacks at the borders with Afghanistan and India byforeign forces and militants. Most of these attacks (114) took place at the border with India,
followed by attacks at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border (11).530 PIPS did not observe any attacks at
the border with Iran in 2020.531 The highest number of people killed were civilians, followed by army
personnel. A combined total of 62 people were killed in these attacks and 222 injured.532 In the
period from 1 January 2021 until 31 July 2021, PIPS mentioned in total 16 cross-border attacks at theborders with Afghanistan, India and Iran. All of these attacks took place at the border with India andAfghanistan. Not a single cross-border attack was counted at the border with Iran. A combined totalof 10 people were killed in these attacks and 23 were injured.533

518 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 63
519 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 64
520 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 64
521 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 28
522 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 30
523 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, pp. 28-29
524 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
525 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
526 CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
527 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 18
528 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 150
529 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
530 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 66-67
531 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 73
532 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 66
533 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS

52

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

In 2017, the Pakistani army started fencing the border to Afghanistan and building borderfortifications.534 Pakistani officials announced in January 2021 that 90 % of the fence wascompleted. It is scheduled to be finalised by June 2021. According to the Pakistan Army, theconstruction of the fence reduced militant cross-border attacks.535 According to a May 2021 articleof RFE/RL’s Gandhara, the fence between Afghanistan and Pakistan caused a standstill in crossborder trade and separation of families.536 According to PIPS, 11 cross-border attacks at the borderwith Afghanistan killed 17 and injured 18 people in the border area in 2020, mostly civilians (12killed) and security personnel (5 killed). Most of these attacks (8) occurred near the border with
Bajaur tribal district.537 In the first seven months of 2021, clashes at the Pakistan-Afghanistan bordercontinued. PIPS reported 9 attacks in the first seven months of 2021. These attacks killed 9 people
and injured 17.538 On 23 May 2021, the Pakistan army stated that one soldier was killed by crossborder shelling from Afghanistan.539 On 30 June 2021, Al Jazeera cited Pakistani military officials,
who mentioned that cross-border firing from Paktika province in Afghanistan killed at least two
Pakistani soldiers.540
The situation at the LoC and the de facto border between the Indian and Pakistani-controlled partsof Kashmir stayed ‘relatively more volatile’ in terms of the number of cross-border violations
documented in 2020, according to PIPS.541 A slight decrease in terms of cross border attacks wasobserved by PIPS in 2020 (114 cross-border attacks) compared to 123 cross-border attacks in
2019.542 These 114 cross- border attacks at the Pakistan-India border in 2020 claimed the lives of 45
and injured 204 people.543 Most of the fatalities were civilians followed by army personnel. The
majority of these attacks concentrated in the districts of Kotli, Bhimber, Poonch and Haveli.544 A
spike in cross-border attacks was noticed by PIPS in November 2020 compared to previous months
in 2020.545 According to a report of CRSS, 75 cross-border attacks occurred at the India-Pakistan
border in 2020, in which 69 were killed and 169 injured.546 On 25 February 2021, Pakistan and India
reached a ceasefire agreement.547 In total in the first seven months of 2021, 7 cross-border attacks
caused the death of 1 person and injured 6 according to PIPS.548
PIPS documented not a single cross-border attack at the border with Iran in 2020.549 A December
2020 article of VoA, citing the Pakistan army, mentioned that about 30 % of the Pakistan-Iran borderis fenced and the project is expected to be completed at the end of 2021.550 Human Rights Watch
reported that on 22 February 2021 at least 10 Baluchi people were killed at the Saravan border area

534 Gandhara, Afghanistan Returns Captured, Dead Pakistani Soldiers After Cross-Border Clash, 16 April 2018, url; Los

Angeles Times, This border barrier got built — and it’s upended lives in Pakistan and Afghanistan, 26 May 2019, url
535 Gandhara, Pakistan Fences Off Afghanistan, Impacting Families And Fighters, 5 February 2021, url
536 Gandhara, Divided By Pakistan’s Border Fence, Pashtuns Lose Business, Rights, And Tribal Ties, 17 May 2021, url
537 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 67
538 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
539 Gandhara, Pakistani Soldier Killed In Cross-Border Attack By Afghan Militants, 23 May 2021, url
540 Al Jazeera, Pakistani soldiers killed in firing along Afghanistan border, 30 June 2021, url
541 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 25
542 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 25, p. 67; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January
2020, url, p. 58, p. 59
543 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 69
544 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 66
545 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 72
546 CRSS, Pakistan India Conflict Report October 16, 2016- February 25, 2021, 9 April 2021, url
547 Diplomat (The), India and Pakistan Announce Ceasefire Across Disputed Border, 25 February 2021, url; Al Jazeera, What
prompted India-Pakistan ceasefire pact along Kashmir border?, 9 March 2021, url
548 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
549 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 73
550 VoA, Pakistan Says Afghan Border Fence Nearly Complete, 4 December 2020, url

53Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situationnear Pakistan.551 In the aftermath of this incident, ‘there have been reports of armed men attacking
Iranian government buildings and security forces near the border’.552
Drone strikes
The first US drone strike in Pakistan took place in the Waziristan region in 2004. The number ofdrone strikes between 2004 and 2014, and casualties, varied according to the source
consulted.553 Most of the US drone strikes in Pakistan took place in former FATA, where the US
military believed al-Qaeda, Taliban and other militant groups sought refuge.554 Under the Trumpadministration, aerial drone strikes in Pakistan continued after a pause of nine months under the
Obama administration.555 A study published in March 2019 by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV)
that examined the relationship between drone strikes and suicide attacks in Pakistan, stated thatbetween January 2011 and January 2019 there were 199 confirmed drone strikes in Pakistan. This
study stated that US-led drone strikes in Pakistan might be fuelling ‘terrorist attacks’ – both of whichwere linked to high levels of civilian harm.556 The last drone strike in Pakistan occurred on
4 July 2018, when a US drone killed a commander of the TTP near North Waziristan.557
In September 2015, for the first time, the Pakistani army launched a Pakistani-made drone, a Burraq
Drone, to strike at terrorists in Shawal Valley in former FATA.558

1.3.3 Impact of COVID-19 on the security situation
On 26 February 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was reported from Karachi in the province of Sindh.
The virus spread into various regions nationwide.559 In mid-March 2020, the government closed allschools, banned public gatherings and transport links, locked the national economy, sealed landborders and limited international flights.560 On 10 August 2020, partial lockdown measures werelifted.561 In the beginning of February 2021, Pakistan started its COVID-19 vaccination programme
initially aiming at Pakistan’s senior citizens.562
Muhammad Amir Rana, a security analyst, wrote two reports about the possible impact of COVID-19
on the security situation in Pakistan.563 Rana stated that in May and June 2020, the frequency andintensity of militant attacks increased in Pakistan.564 From October until December 2020, he again
noticed an upward trend in militant attacks.565 However, is it hard to link this increase to the virus.566
Rana concluded that militant groups are still able to carry out attacks and try to exploit the socio-

551 HRW, Iran: Killings Near Pakistani Border, 25 February 2021, url
552 RFE/RL, Pakistan's Baluchis Protest Iranian Treatment Of Ethnic Brethren After Border Shootings, 4 March 2021, url
553 Watson Institute for International Studies, Costs of War: War-related Death, Injury, and Displacement in Afghanistan

and Pakistan 2001-2014, 22 May 2015, url, p. 11
554 Express Tribune (The), Explore the data: Drone strikes in Pakistan, 9 February 2018, url; Dawn, Thousands killed in drone
strikes, terror attacks since 2004, 9 November 2018, url
555 New America, Drone strikes: Pakistan, n.d., url
556 AOAV, Drone strikes and suicide attacks in Pakistan: an analysis, 29 March 2019, url, p. 1
557 Dawn, Taliban commander killed in suspected US drone strike near Pak-Afghan border, 5 July 2018, url
558 Express Tribune (The), Why Pakistan's first drone strike should worry Obama, 1 October 2015, url
559 International Crisis Group, Pakistan’s COVID-19 Crisis, 7 August 2020, url, p. 3
560 VoA, Pakistan Lifts Lockdowns, Top UN Diplomat Lauds Anti-Virus Gains, 10 August 2020, url
561 Al Jazeera, Pakistan partial lockdown measures to lift, 10 August 2020, url
562 New York Times (The), Unvaccinated in Pakistan? You might lose your cellphone service, 15 June 2021, url; Deutsche
Welle, Pakistan picks up its COVID vaccination drive just in time, 23 June 2021, url
563 Amir Rana, M., Terrorism in Pakistan under Covid-19, NIOC, 24 July 2020, url; Amir Rana, M., Terrorism in Pakistan
during Covid-19 (March-December 2020), NIOC, January 2021, url
564 Amir Rana, M., Terrorism in Pakistan under Covid-19, NIOC, 24 July 2020, url, p. 5
565 Amir Rana, M., Terrorism in Pakistan during Covid-19 (March-December 2020), NIOC, January 2021, url, p. 2
566 Amir Rana, M., Terrorism in Pakistan during Covid-19 (March-December 2020), NIOC, January 2021, url, p. 2

54

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

economic instability and the preoccupation of the security forces with managing the COVID-19
situation.567
Kiyya Baloch stated on 12 July 2021 about the impact of COVID-19 on the security situation in
Pakistan that:‘There is no academic data on COVID-19’s impact on media reporting on the security
situation in Pakistan. Still, it is obvious that the pandemic has taken a heavy toll on every
sector, and the media industry isn’t an exception. There were reports that news
organizations were not supplying journalists with protective equipment such as facemasks,
hand sanitizers, and extendable boom microphones and telescopic lenses. Some reports say
22 journalists died of COVID-19 in Pakistan. These fatalities must have had immense impacts
on media reporting on issues related to security in Pakistan.’568
Abdul Basit stated the following on 29 July 2021 about COVID-19 and the security situation in the
KPTDs:‘COVID-19 did not have a major impact on the media reporting on the security situation in
the ex-FATA region. The major hurdle in reporting is state censorship as well as threats from
TTP and other terrorist groups.’569

1.4 Impact of the violence on the civilian population
The first section of this chapter describes the figures on casualties of violence in 2020 and the firstseven months of 2021. There are several Pakistani organisations that keep count on the casualties570
of violence (PIPS, PICSS and CRSS); however, the figures vary between organisations. This is related
to the fact that these organisations have varying methods, ground presence and access to
information.571 Separate sections further below in this chapter describe the targets of violence, theeffects of violent incidents on society and the situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) andrefugees.

1.4.1 Figures on casualties in 2020
In 2020, PIPS recorded 373 violent incidents, resulting in 503 deaths and 851 injured (including
deaths and injured from ‘terrorist attacks’).572 The number of people killed in overall incidents ofviolence in Pakistan decreased by 14 %, from 588 in 2019 to 503 in 2020. The number of people
injured in overall incidents of violence decreased by 17 % from 1 030 in 2019 to 851 in 2020.573
According to PIPS, 171 civilians, 181 militants and 151 security personnel were killed in 2020.574 A
downward trend was recorded for the number of civilians killed (171) in these violent incidents, adecrease by about 27 % as compared to 2019 (235). Fatalities among security forces personnel in2020 (151) were 28 % less than the previous year’s fatalities among them (209). On the contrary, an
increase was documented for the number of deaths of militants: 181 militants in 2020, an increaseof 26 % compared to 2019.575 In addition, the PIPS data showed that ‘terrorist attacks’ (146)567 Amir Rana, M., Terrorism in Pakistan under Covid-19, NIOC, 24 July 2020, url, p. 5; Amir Rana, M., Terrorism in Pakistan

during Covid-19 (March-December 2020), NIOC, January 2021, url, pp. 2-3
568 Baloch, K., email, 12 July 2021
569 Basit, A., email, 29 July 2021
570 In this report the term casualties means the sum of the fatalities and injured persons
571 For a description of these sources, see the introduction
572 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 22
573 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 22
574 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 26-27
575 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 26

55

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situationaccounted for less than half of all violent incidents in 2020. The number of people killed in these‘terrorist attacks’ in 2020 decreased by 38 % compared to 2019.576
PICSS recorded 333 incidents of violence carried out by militants and during counter-insurgency
operations by the state in 2020. In total 429 people were killed: 165 militants, 127 civilians, 137
security forces personnel.577 PICSS reported 619 injured: 454 civilians, 16 militants, 149 security
forces personnel. Compared to 2019, an increase of 9 % in deaths and an almost 37 % decrease ininjured people.578
Data provided by CRSS showed 600 fatalities and 518 injured from violence in 2020.579 This includes
the deaths of 239 civilians, 198 militants and 163 security officials.580 Compared to 2019, thenumber of violence-related fatalities decreased by 11, 50 % according to CRSS.581
Figure 2 gives a comparison of the persons killed in 2019 and in 2020 between the three sources
based on the definitions described in the Introduction.
2019 by source

Total killed

Civilians killed

PIPS

588

235

144

209

CRSS

679

328

155

196

PICSS

393

133

110

150

2020 by source

Total killed

PIPS

503

171

181

151

CRSS

600

239

198

163

PICSS

429

127

165

137

Civilians killed

Militants killed

Militants killed

Security forces killed

Security forces killed

Figure 2. Comparison of the number of fatalities in 2019 and 2020, based on PIPS, CRSS, PICSS data582

Patterns of casualties in 2020583
Data compiled in the CRSS annual report 2020 shows a certain stability in the number of fatalities
throughout most of the year 2020. The highest number of monthly fatalities occurred in February(54), October (86) and December (60) 2020. August (32) 2020 witnessed the fewest fatalities of theyear.584
Data compiled by PICSS shows the highest number of casualties (fatalities and injured) in Octoberand December 2020. PICSS noted a significant increase in the numbers of casualties in the month ofOctober 2020.585

576 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 27
577 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 3
578 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 3
579 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 4
580 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 7
581 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 5
582 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, pp. 24-25; PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2019, 9January 2020, url, p. 14; CRSS, Annual Security Report 2019, 28 January 2020, url, pp. 8-9; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report
2020, 3 January 2021 url, pp. 26-27; PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 3; CRSS, Annual
Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 7
583 In this section the data compiled by CRSS and PICSS are compared, as both sources have collected data throughout 2020
for each month.
584 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 6
585 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 6

56

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

1.4.2 Figures on casualties 1 January 2021 - 31 July 2021
In the first seven months of 2021, PIPS recorded 158 violent incidents, resulting in 1 056 casualties(300 deaths and 756 injured) (including 180 deaths and 295 injured from 97 ‘terrorist attacks’).586
PICSS recorded 263 incidents of violence carried out by militants and during counter-insurgency
operations by the state in the first seven months of 2021. These incidents of violence resulted in 654
casualties (313 deaths, 341 injured).587
Data provided by CRSS showed in total 395 fatalities and a number of 208 injured persons in violent
incidents in the first and second quarter of 2021 in Pakistan.588 The total number of casualties forboth quarters in 2021 stood at 603 casualties. CRSS counted the deaths of 173 civilians, 112
militants, and 116 security and government officials in the first and second quarter of 2021.589
Patterns of casualties 1 January 2021 - 31 July 2021
Data compiled by CRSS for the first seven months shows that most fatalities occurred in June (78)followed by May (72) 2021. The least fatalities were recorded in April 2021 (53).590

Violence-related casualties by region
Q1, 2021 vs Q2,2021
Data CRSS
250
200
150

100
50
0
KP - including
FATA

Sindh

Balochistan
total Quarter 1

Punjab

ICT

AJK

GB

total Quarter 2

Figure 6. Violence-related casualties by region Q1, 2021 vs Q2, 2021 based on CRSS data591

586 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
587 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
588 For Q2 the incident with the TLP was left out (Pakistan, 800 injured and 4 deaths, to not influence the overall number).

Figures fatalities and injured summed up for the first and second quarter – for the second quarter the number offatalities/injured of the incident TLP was not included in these figures because it is not clear if it was a security incident.
CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url;
589 Figures fatalities and injured summed up for the first and second quarter – for the second quarter the number offatalities/injured of the incident TLP was not included in these figures because it is not clear it was a security incident.
CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
590 Figures fatalities and injured summed up for the first and second quarter – for the second quarter the number offatalities/injured of the incident TLP was not included in these figures because it is not clear if it was a security incident.
CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
591 Figures fatalities and injured summed up for the first and second quarter – for the second quarter the number offatalities/injured of the incident TLP was not included in these figures because it is not clear if it was a security incident.
CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url

57

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

According to CRSS, in the second quarter of 2021 an increase in casualties (365 casualties in total)592
was recorded compared to the first quarter of 2021 (238 casualties in total).593 The number offatalities and injured in Pakistan in the second quarter of 2021 was higher than in the first quarter of2021. In the second quarter of 2021, the number of casualties increased in Balochistan, Sindh, in
Punjab and ICT compared to the first quarter of 2021. In KP and former FATA, the number ofcasualties in the second quarter were lower than in the first quarter of 2021 (seeData compiled by CRSS for the first seven months shows that most fatalities occurred in June (78)followed by May (72) 2021. The least fatalities were recorded in April 2021 (53).
Figure ).594
Data compiled by PICSS showed the highest number of casualties in May and June 2021. PICSS noted
an increase in the numbers of casualties from May 2021 onwards.595

1.4.3 Targets of attacks
Both PIPS and CRSS provided more in-depth information about the affiliations of the victims596 of‘terrorist attacks’ and security operations in Pakistan during the year 2020.
PIPS counted 146 ‘terrorist attacks’ in 2020 in which 220 people were killed and 547 injured.597 In
the first seven months of 2021, PIPS counted 97 ‘terrorist attacks’ in which 180 people were killed
and 295 injured.598
Figure shows in detail the targets of ‘terrorist attacks’ in 2020 and the first seven months of 2021
provided by PIPS.
Targets

2020

First seven months of 2021

Incidents

Persons
killedPersons
injuredIncidents

Persons
killedPersons
injuredSecurity forces/law
enforcement

84

133

215

62

107

172

Non-Baloch
settlers/workers

0

0

0

2

5

9

Gas pipelines

1

0

0

0

0

0

Tribal elders

6

9

2

2

1

2

Civilians

29

19

138

12

25

49

592 Figures fatalities and injured summed up for the first and second quarter – for the second quarter the number offatalities/injured of the incident TLP was not included in these figures because it is not clear if it was a security incident.
CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
593 Figures fatalities and injured summed up for the first and second quarter – for the second quarter the number offatalities/injured of the incident TLP was not included in these figures because it is not clear if it was a security incident.
CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
594 Figures fatalities and injured summed up for the first and second quarter – for the second quarter the number offatalities/injured of the incident TLP was not included in these figures because it is not clear if it was a security incident.
CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
595 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
596 A broader description than merely civilians, security personnel and militants
597 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 18
598 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS

58

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

CD/other shops/private
property

1

0

0

0

0

0

Shia religious
scholars/community

4

5

14

1

11

0

Worship
places/shrines/imambargahs

3

24

112

1

0

1

Government offices/pu
blic property (hospitals,
banks, etc.)

1

8

7

2

2

29

Sunni religious
leaders/community

4

13

20

1

0

1

Political
leaders/workers

4

0

39

1

1

0

Haqqani network of
Afghan Taliban

1

1

0

1

1

0

Media/Journalists

1

1

0

0

0

0

Health/polio workers,
security escorts

2

3

0

1

1

0

Railway tracks/trains

2

0

0

0

0

0

CPEC/workers/Chinese
nationals

1

0

0

3

13

31

Development, explorati
ons projects,
companies, workers

1

4

0

1

1

0

NATO/US supply
vehicles

1

0

0

0

0

0

NGO/civil society
members

0

0

0

1

4

1

Alleged spy

0

0

0

1

1

0

Progovernment tribesmen/
peace committee
members

0

0

0

4

6

0

Figure 7. Targets attacked in ‘terrorist attacks’ in 2020 and first seven months of 2021, based on PIPS data599

According to CRSS, civilians and security personnel were the most targeted by militancy, making up
more than half of the total fatalities in 2020.600 CRSS noticed that, in the second quarter of 2021,
fatalities of security personnel and civilians increased slightly compared to the first quarter of 2021.

599 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 18; Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-

31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
600 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 7

59

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

On the other hand, fatalities of militants declined slightly in the second quarter compared to the firstquarter of 2021.601

Figure shows in detail the victims of ‘terrorist attacks’ and counterterrorism operations provided by
CRSS in 2020 and in the first and second quarter of 2021.
Targets of overall
incidents

No. of fatalities
2020

No. offatalities Q1
2021

No. offatalities Q2
2021

Militants

121

41

29

Criminals

37

8

22

Insurgents

39

5

4

Political criminals

1

1

-

Religious criminals

-

-

-

Foreign militants

-

2

-

Security officials

161

55

61

Government officials

2

-

-

Civilians

214

79

77

Foreigners

1

-

-

Media

4

1

0

Politicians

6

4

2

Religious party

5

-

8

Religious members

9

2

-

Figure 8. Victims of ‘terrorist attacks’ and counterterrorism operations in 2020, Q1 2021 and Q2 2021, by
CRSS602

In an email, Fahad Nabeel stated on 4 August 2021 the following about the main targets of militantgroups in the tribal districts during 2020 and 2021:‘The main targets of militant groups in tribal districts during 2020 and 2021 have been
security forces and law enforcement personnel. The personnel are targeted as part of crossborder attacks from Afghanistan while manning Pak-Afghan border. In some cases,
personnel manning check posts and those patrolling a certain area are also targeted. Clashes
with militant groups as part of intelligence-based operations is also a factor for targetingthese personnel. Apart from security forces and law enforcement personnel, civilians andpoliticians are the second and third most targeted groups respectively. However, the threat
level against civilians and politicians is of low level as compared to security forces and law

601 CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
602 The CRSS data between Q1 and Q2 differ. Cedoca chose to follow the Q2 data for Q1. CRSS, Annual Security Report

2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 7; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security
Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url

60

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

enforcement personnel. The low-level threat against civilians is due to a shift in TTP’s policy
under Noor Wali Mehsud to abandon indiscriminate attacks against civilians.’603
An academic expert on terrorism in South Asia listed the following main targets of militant groups inPakistan during 2020 and 2021:‘- Military, paramilitary and police targets in border regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
and Baluchistan.
- Civilians, specifically members of minority groups.
- Some NGO, polio and other health workers involved in inoculation efforts.
- Chinese projects, officials, and workers.
- Journalists who violate Pakistan’s censorship regime.’604

1.4.4 Effects of violent incidents on society in Pakistan
Landmines, IEDs and other unexploded remnants remain a risk for the population in the tribal
districts and especially for children.605 When IDPs returned to the tribal districts in 2017, thelandmines and IEDs were not all dismantled.606 Throughout 2020 media reports covered landmine
incidents in the tribal districts.607 The Landmine Monitor Report of 2020 recorded ‘numerous
antipersonnel mine incidents in Balochistan and KP’.608
On 6 January 2021, three children were killed and two others injured when a hand grenade exploded
while they were playing with it at the outskirts of Peshawar.609 On 27 May 2021, four children were
injured in a landmine explosion in the Tandi area of Kurram tribal district.610 On 29 June 2021,
children brought home an unexploded mortar and tried to dismantle it. The mortar exploded andkilled five persons and injured five other persons of the household.611 On 3 July 2021, three children
died due to an explosion of a toy bomb in Shah Alam Mehsud Koroona area of Tank.612
On 6 June 2021, the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) released a statement
whereby the organisation expressed its concern over the recent incidents of landmine explosions inPakistan.613 During a court hearing in the High Court of Peshawar in June 2021, several lawyers
claimed that during the last thirteen years, 178 landmine explosions have occurred in the tribal
districts in which 800 people were killed, 250 children disabled and 77 left visually impaired.614 Dawn
reported in June 2021 that security personnel cleared Malakand and Bajaur tribal districts of
explosives, including landmines, while the clearance operation in other tribal districts is still ongoing.
In June 2021, Dawn stated that 37 army personnel were killed in landmine blasts and 17 hadsuffered injuries since 2018. Around 80 square kilometres in South Waziristan and North Waziristan
had still to be cleared of mines.615

603 Nabeel F., email, 4 August 2021
604 Academic expert on terrorism in South Asia, email, 22 July 2021
605 Dawn, Special report: Toying with death, 1 March 2020, url; Mohanty, R.T., Pakistan: Menacing Landmines In Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa – Analysis, 5 July 2021, url
606 Mohanty, R.T., Pakistan: Menacing Landmines In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Analysis, 5 July 2021, url
607 Express Tribune (The), Landmine blast kills boy, injures father, 14 May 2020, url; VOA DEEWA, [Twitter], posted on: 21
July 2020, url
608 ICBL-CMC, Landmine Monitor 2020, 12 November 2020, url, p. 14
609 Dawn, Three brothers die in Peshawar as grenade they’re playing with goes off, 7 January 2021, url
610 Dawn, Four children hurt in Kurram landmine blast, 28 May 2021, url
611 Dawn, 30 June 2021, Blast inside Landi Kotal house kills five of family, 30 June 2021, url
612 TNN, Toy bomb kills 3 children in Tank, 3 July 2021, url
613 UNICEF, UNICEF deeply concerned by death and injury of children due to landmine and grenade explosions in Pakistan,
6 June 2021, url
614 TNN, PHC asks Centre to submit report on landmine blasts in merged districts, 25 June 2021, url
615 Dawn, Large area in ex-Fata yet to be de-mined, 12 June 2021, url

61

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Muhammad Nawaz Khan, a research officer at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), statedin January 2020 that ‘owing to the increased militancy and subsequent military operations in Swat,
South and North Waziristan and other parts of Pakistan, the local residents in the conflict areas –particularly the women and children – have been severely affected by social, mental, physical andpsychological trauma and abuse’.616
In 2017 and 2018, Human Rights Watch reported that militant attacks had a devastating impact on
education.617 Human Rights Watch stated that Islamist militant violence had disrupted ‘theeducation of hundreds of thousands of children, particularly girls’.618 According to the same source,
the government of Pakistan fails ‘to stop or mitigate’ attacks on educational institutes. In November
2018, Human Rights Watch stated that many girls have no access to education, mainly because of ashortage of government schools and insecurity.619 The government failed to protect schools fromsuch attacks and prosecute perpetrators.620
PIPS annual security report 2020 does not mention any attacks on educational institutes in the year
2020 in Pakistan.621 On 12 July 2021, a blast caused by a hand grenade attack occurred at a girl’s
school in Haider Khel area of North Waziristan tribal district. There were no casualties.622

1.4.5 Internally Displaced Persons and refugees
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
In its 2021 Global Report on Internal Displacement, the International Displacement Monitoring
Centre (IDMC) stated that as of the end of 2020 the total number of IDPs due to conflict andviolence stands at 104 000 in Pakistan.623 The IDP data presented in Figure 9 was provided by
UNOCHA Pakistan and shows the latest statistics of IDP families until August 2021. Until
August 2021, there were still 16 483 families displaced. The majority of this number are displaced
from North Waziristan tribal district (15 369 families) followed by Khyber tribal district (1 114
families).624

616 Nawaz Khan, M., The socio-psychological impact of terrorism on Pakistani society, The Asia Dialogue, 30 January 2020,

url
617 HRW, Dreams Turned into Nightmares: Attacks on Students, Teachers, and Schools in Pakistan, 27 March 2017, url;

HRW, Pakistan: Surge in Militant Attacks on Schools, 3 August 2018, url; HRW, Rise in Militant Attacks on Schools inPakistan, 14 May 2018, url
618 HRW, Pakistan: Surge in Militant Attacks on Schools, 3 August 2018, url
619 HRW, Rise in Militant Attacks on Schools in Pakistan, 14 May 2018, url; HRW, Pakistan: Surge in Militant Attacks on
Schools, 3 August 2018, url; HRW, “Shall I Feed My Daughter, or Educate Her?” Barriers to Girls’ Education in Pakistan, 12
November 2018, url
620 HRW, Dreams Turned into Nightmares: Attacks on Students, Teachers, and Schools in Pakistan, 27 March 2017, url;
HRW, Rise in Militant Attacks on Schools in Pakistan, 14 May 2018, url; HRW, Pakistan: Surge in Militant Attacks on Schools,
3 August 2018, url
621 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url
622 Dawn, Panic as grenade hurled at girls school in N. Waziristan, 13 July 2021, url
623 IDMC, GRID 2021 Global Report on Internal Displacement, May 2021, url, p. 56, p. 149
624 UNOCHA Pakistan, email, 4 August 2021- data of PDMA KP - courtesy of UNOCHA Pakistan.

62

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

District

Total Families
Verified by
NADRA

Total Verified
ReturnTotal
Remaining
Families as
IDPs

Return %Bajaur72 89772 8970

100 %Mohmand

36 75936 7590100 %Khyber91 68990 575

1 114

99 %

Orakzai

35 82335 8230

100 %Kurram33 02433 0240

100 %North Waziristan

108 149

92 78015 36986 %South Waziristan

71 12471 1240100 %Frontier Region
Tank

2 228

2 228

0

100 %

45 1693

43 5210

16 483

96 %

Total

Figure 9. Overview IDPs Pakistan until 4 August 2021, based on data of PDMA KP - courtesy of UNOCHA Pakistan625

USDOS reported in its Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2020 that:‘Many IDPs reportedly wanted to return home, despite the lack of local infrastructure,
housing, and available service delivery and the strict control that security forces maintained
over returnees’ movements through extensive checkpoints. Other IDP families delayed theirreturn or chose some family members to remain in the settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
where regular access to health care, education, and other social services was available. For
IDPs who were unwilling or unable to return, the government coordinated support with theUnited Nations and other international organizations.’626
In 2021, media reports frequently mentioned protests of people of the tribal districts because they
had not received yet a compensation for their homes and businesses, which were destroyed due tothe violence in the region in the past.627
Afghan refugees
Detailed information about the situation and living conditions of Afghan refugees in Pakistan isavailable in the EASO COI Report: Pakistan- Situation of Afghan refugees (May 2020).
According to UNOCHA, in 2020, around 7 900 Afghans returned from Pakistan.628 For the same
period, IOM reported on 6 701 undocumented returns from Pakistan.629 UNHCR reported thatbetween 3 January 2021 and 30 June 2021, 400 registered Afghans returned to Afghanistan.630 IOM

625 UNOCHA Pakistan, email, 4 August 2021- data of PDMA KP - courtesy of UNOCHA Pakistan
626 USDOS, 2020 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Pakistan, 30 March 2021, url, pp. 32-33
627 TNN, Owners of damaged houses receive compensation cheques in Khyber, 24 June 2021, url; TNN, Rehabilitation ofaffected people in Kurram sought, 25 March 2021, url
628 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Snapshot of Population Movements (January to December 2020), 23 January 2021, url
629 IOM, Return of Undocumented Afghans – Weekly Situation Report, 20 – 31 December 2020, 31 December 2020, url, p.
1
630 UNHCR, Afghanistan Voluntary Repatriation Update June 2021, 5 August 2021, url

63Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

reported that, between 1 January 2021 and 29 July 2021, 6 934 undocumented Afghans returned to
Afghanistan.631

1.5 State ability to secure law and orderMuhammad Amir Rana, a researcher and director of PIPS, stated in 2018 that Pakistan had ‘acomprehensive constitutional framework and accompanying legal procedures’ but in practice therule of law was confined to ‘conventional concepts of internal security and law enforcement’.632
According to a March 2021 report by Freedom House that covered 2020, the military had an‘enormous influence’ on national security, foreign policy, the economic policy and the media.
Freedom House further stated that corruption, lack of accountability and lack of transparency werepervasive problems at all levels of government, in politics, and in the military.633

1.5.1 Security forces
The security forces in Pakistan include the Pakistan Armed Forces, the police, the Pakistan Rangers,
the Levies, the Frontier Corps, Khassadars and others. For a description of these forces, see 1.2.1
State armed forces.
GeneralAccording to Mohammad Amir Rana, the government of Pakistan engaged, parallel to the security
forces, paramilitary forces to fight terrorism and other security threats. Each province in Pakistan
had such parallel security forces.634 The military and the paramilitary forces also took up the role oflaw enforcement. Mohammad Amir Rana stated further that ‘such ‘temporary or situationalarrangement’s’ contributed in the state’s lack of political will to reform and empower civilian law
enforcement structures’. One example was the Rangers in Karachi; another example was the FC andarmy in Balochistan and tribal districts who took control of security as well as law enforcement,‘parallel to existing, though weak, law enforcement structures’.635
In total 84 ‘terrorist attacks’ or 58 % of the total number of ‘terrorist attacks’ (146) reported in 2020
by PIPS, targeted security forces and law-enforcement agencies across Pakistan.636 In 2020, 151
security force personnel were killed and 174 injured in the overall violent security incidents
according to PIPS.637 As stated by PICSS, in the first seven months of 2021, 108 security force
personnel were killed and 112 injured.638
Capacity
In September 2018, Mohammad Amir Rana described the effectiveness of the security forces asfollows:‘The interaction and coordination between military and civilian law enforcement agencies
has also not been good, thus exposing some deeper structural issues linked to the rule oflaw and law enforcement in the country. Indeed, paramilitary forces have been encroachingon civilian law-and-order affairs and strengthening their institutional and moral authority.
On the other hand, civilian law-enforcement agencies have become so weak that they631 IOM, Afghanistan Return of Undocumented Afghans situation report 23-29 July 2021, 29 July 2021, url, p. 1
632 Amir Rana, M., The rule of law: concept and practices in Pakistan, PIPS, 26 September 2018, url, p. 1
633 Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2021 - Pakistan, 3 March 2021, url
634 Amir Rana, M., The rule of law: concept and practices in Pakistan, PIPS, 26 September 2018, url, p. 2
635 Amir Rana, M., The rule of law: concept and practices in Pakistan, PIPS, 26 September 2018, url, pp. 1-2
636 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 18
637 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 26-27
638 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS

64

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

cannot even clarify their position in certain instances where they could not act due todominant role played by paramilitaries.’639
An October 2019 joint report of the Human Rights Commission Pakistan (HRCP) and of theInternational Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) stated that the police lacked training to handle
evidence in criminal cases.640 Freedom House stated in March 2021 that the police was ‘accused ofbiased or arbitrary handling of initial criminal complaints’. Both the police and the prosecution
service were ‘criticised for a chronic failure to prosecute terrorism cases’.641 USIP stated in August2020 that the Pakistani police had been struggling with a ‘poor relationship with the public
categorized by mistrust and mistreatment’. Consequently, ‘effective policing’ was hindered.642
In light of the COVID-19 outbreak in Pakistan, a June 2020 article published by USIP stated that thepolice was under-resourced and poorly trained to cope with the health restrictions. USIP stated:‘With only outdated legal frameworks and conventional training and education to rely on, the police
have largely responded to violations with corporal punishment, detentions, and arrests—actions
that have been reported by the media and widely condemned’.643According to the Global Firepowerindex 2021, the Pakistan Army has been ranked the 10th most powerful in the world out of 133
countries.644 According to an article by the Express Tribune in January 2021, Pakistan dedicates 7
billion dollar from its annual budget to defence activities.645
Integrity
HRCP and FIDH stated that police officers were susceptible to pressure of the community to arrest
and ensure convictions, especially in high-level cases.646 The police force is identified as one of themost corrupt governmental institutions in Pakistan.647
The Pakistani military is involved in many spheres of the economy. Besides this, Pakistan’s army
plays a dominant role in domestic politics.648 The balance between the civilian government and themilitary leadership was complex. The army was accused of meddling in the elections in 2018.649 In
February 2019, the Supreme Court of Pakistan criticised the army for its role and for exceeding theirmandate in the blasphemy protests of 2017.650 The Diplomat stated in June 2019 that sympathisersof jihadist groups like IS and LeJ were present within the army.651
Abuse of power, ill-treatment, use of excessive force, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings

639 Amir Rana, M., The rule of law: concept and practices in Pakistan, PIPS, 26 September 2018, url, p. 14
640 HRCP and FIDH, Punished for being vulnerable; How Pakistan executes the poorest and the most marginalized insociety, 8 October 2019, url, p. 18
641 Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2021 - Pakistan, 3 March 2021, url
642 USIP, The Current Situation in Pakistan A USIP Fact Sheet, 11 August 2020, url, p. 2
643 Waseem, Z. and Rafiq, A., Coronavirus Pandemic Puts Police in the Spotlight in Pakistan, USIP, 16 June 2020, url
644 Global Fire Power, 2021 Military Strength Ranking, n.d., url
645 Express Tribune (The), Pakistan Army surpasses Israel, Canada to become 10th most powerful in world, 18 January
2021, url
646 HRCP and FIDH, Punished for being vulnerable; How Pakistan executes the poorest and the most marginalized insociety, 8 October 2019, url, p. 20
647 Dawn, The problems with policing Pakistan, 9 May 2021, url; Daily Times, Socio-political and economic factors of police
corruption, 6 October 2020, url
648 Foreign Policy, Poor Nation, Rich Army, 21 March 2019, url; Economist (The), Pakistan’s generals are ever more involvedin running the country, 8 April 2021, url
649 Washington Post (The), Pakistan’s military has its fingerprints all over the elections, 25 July 2018, url; BBC Reality Check,
The political influence of Pakistan's powerful army [online video], 18 August 2018, url
650 Gandhara, Pakistan's Top Court Tells Army To Stay Out Of Politics, Media, 6 February 2019, url
651 Diplomat (The), Islamic State Comes for South Asia, 18 June 2019, url

65Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

In 2015, it was reported that security forces reportedly engaged in arrests without warrants,
detention for long periods before seeing a judge and detaining people in secret locations.652 The
PTM movement accused the army of using excessive force during a demonstration on 26 May 2019
when at least three people were killed as a result of violence between Pashtun activists and thearmy.653 Unlawful and extrajudicial killings by Pakistani law enforcement agencies were also
reported by Amnesty International.654 In its annual report of May 2021 HRCP documented policeencounters in 2020 in different provinces of Pakistan.655
BBC News reported in May 2018 on disappearances and unlawful detentions of Shia’s, suspected
Sunni jihadists, ethnic nationalist activists, and secular critics of the Pakistani military
establishment.656 In addition, Deutsche Welle reported in July 2019 about the disappearances of Shia
apparently carried out by the country's intelligence agencies as stated by Shia organisations andactivists.657 According to a report of AI covering 2020 political activists, students, journalists, humanrights defenders and Shia Muslims are the victims of enforced disappearances, particularly in Sindh
and Balochistan.658 A September 2020 report of the International Commission of Jurists stated that
the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (COIED) had failed entirely to address
entrenched impunity.659
Torture and ill treatment in detention to obtain confessions or during investigations continued toremain a serious issue according to sources.660 On 2 June 2019, BBC News published a report that
discussed Pakistan's long battle with militants in the past. The report stated that ‘tens of thousandsof people’ had been killed during Pakistan’s long battle with militants as part of the post-9/11 war on
terror and that ‘evidence of murder and torture by soldiers and insurgents is emerging.’661 In
September 2019, Deutsche Welle stated that there is no reliable data on custodial deaths inPakistan, but ‘human rights groups point to a spike in police torture cases.’ According to Deutsche
Welle ‘[t]hey say that the “culture” of police torture is more prevalent in Pakistan's most populous
Punjab province than in other parts of the country.’662
A March 2021 joint report by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and Justice Project
Pakistan stressed the lack of clarity on the issue of torture in Pakistan’s domestic laws.663 Pakistan
has not yet enacted a law to criminalise custodial torture, however, Pakistan is a signatory to the UN
Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment(UNCAT).664 In October 2019, Human Rights Watch stated that Pakistan introduced a bill, The Tortureand Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act 2019, to make torture by the police a criminal
offense for the first time.665 The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill 2020,

652 New York Times (The), In Pakistan, Detainees Are Vanishing in Covert Jails, 26 July 2015, url
653 HRW, Pakistan: Investigate North Waziristan Deaths Uphold Rights of Region’s Pashtun Population, 30 May 2019, url
654 AI, Sahiwal shootings: The rot goes as deep as the roots, 31 January 2019, url
655 HRCP, State of Human Rights in 2020, 3 May 2021, url
656 BBC News, The story of Pakistan's 'disappeared' Shias, 31 May 2018, url
657 DW, Why are Pakistani Shiites 'disappearing'?, 9 July 2019, url
658 AI, Amnesty International Report 2020; The State of the World's Human Rights; Pakistan 2020, 7 April 2021, url
659 ICJ, Entrenching Impunity, Denying Redress: The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances in Pakistan, 8September 2020, url, p. 3
660 BBC News, Uncovering Pakistan's secret human rights abuses, 2 June 2019, url; Dawn, View from the courtroom: No
legislation yet to criminalise custodial torture accessed, 1 July 2019, url; News on Sunday (The), Police’s third degree
methods, 15 March 2020, url
661 BBC News, Uncovering Pakistan's secret human rights abuses, 2 June 2019, url
662 Deutsche Welle, Deaths in custody — the culture of police torture in Pakistan, 18 September 2019, url
663 OMCT, Justice Project Pakistan, Criminalising Torture in Pakistan: The need for an effective legal framework emphasises
the lack of clarity on the issue of torture in Pakistan’s domestic laws, 18 March 2021, url, pp. 4-6
664 Dawn, View from the courtroom: No legislation yet to criminalise custodial torture accessed, 1 July 2019, url
665 HRW, Pakistan Could Make Torture A Crime, 10 October 2019, url

66Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situationtabled in February 2020, has not yet been passed by the parliament.666 On 12 July 2021, the bill was
passed by the Senate.667

1.5.2 Judiciary and legal system
Structure of the judiciary
The formal court system, as established by the country’s 1973 constitution, consists of the Supreme
Court, High Courts in the four provinces and Islamabad, session courts in each district and a federal
Sharia Court.668
Capacity
In June 2021, Dawn stated that around 2.1 million cases were pending in the courts in Pakistan.
About 51 387 were pending with the Supreme Court.669 The lack of capacity in the judiciary to deal
with cases was also rooted in the vast numbers of detainees, detentions without documentation,
slow legal processing times, lack of use of bail provisions, and lack of information sharing.670
According to The Nation, Pakistan lacks a high number of judges and many posts are vacant in the
district and high courts.671
In some areas, Pakistanis avoided civil and criminal courts and instead relied on tribal disputesettlement of private issues, especially in rural areas. This was largely due to lack of access to justice,lack of trust in the judiciary or because of lack of social status and financial resources for some partsof the population.672
Integrity
The Pakistan judiciary is susceptible to corruption, bribery, political interference, and pressure frompolitical groups and the army.673 Appointments and court decisions were affected by politicalinfluence and favouritism.674 The Pakistani judiciary was described by several sources as having
restricted independence and impartiality with a weak and dependent nature.675 Judicial officials andlawyers faced ‘significant public pressure’, intimidation, and violence, particularly regarding cases oforganised crime, corruption or related to blasphemy.676
According to a June 2021 article of Dawn, the situation in the lower courts in Pakistan is more severe
than in high courts. The lower courts are confronted with many problems: incompetent and/or

666 Geo News TV, What’s stopping Pakistan from criminalising police torture?, 15 March 2021, url
667 HRW, Pakistan: Pass Anti-Torture Bill, 14 July 2021, url
668 Courting the Law, Criminal Justice System In Pakistan: A Critical Analysis, 15 February 2017, url; Pakistan, Governmentof Pakistan, The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 13 February 2019, url, article 175, article 213
669 Dawn, Backlog in courts, 29 June 2021, url
670 UN Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on the initial report of Pakistan, 23 August 2017, url, par. 31;
Express Tribune (The), Judicial reforms for a competitive Pakistan, 16 January 2019, url
671 Nation (The), Shortage of judges increasing burden on judiciary, 22 January 2020, url
672 Asia Foundation (The), Alternative Dispute Resolution Gains Traction in Pakistan, 18 December 2019, url
673 Gandhara, Pakistani Lawyers Protest Gov’t Case Against Top Judge, 3 June 2019, url
674 Pakistan Today, Political influence, favouritism behind elevation of high court judges, suggest lawyers, 29 April 2017, url
675 Nation (The), Pakistan’s flawed justice system, 19 June 2018, url; Daily Times, Reforming the judicial system, 8 March
2019, url; Daily Times, Modern justice system and Pakistan, 21 February 2019, url; Dawn, Crisis of the judiciary, 17 July
2019, url
676 International News (The), Recent incidents targeting Pakistani, global judges and family members, 16 April 2018, url;
HRCP and FIDH, Punished for being vulnerable; How Pakistan executes the poorest and the most marginalized in society, 8October 2019, url, pp. 22-23

67

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

overworked public prosecutors, individuals prepared to bear false witness for money andinadequate police investigations.677

1.5.3 Anti-Terrorism Acts and military courts
Anti-Terrorism Acts
On 24 February 2014, the government announced an internal security policy for a five-year period.
This policy focused mainly on securing urban centres, while it often did not mention the situation informer FATA and Balochistan. It referred to dialogue with all stakeholders for madrassa reforms,
militants’ rehabilitation and deradicalisation. A primary target of the security policy was isolating
terrorists. The National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) was supposed to carry out tasks
ranging from counterterrorism to political and operational interventions. In February 2014, thegovernment was still engaged in peace talks with the Taliban, and the security policy proved
insufficient once the military operation in North Waziristan started and the country fell victim toretaliatory attacks by the militants.678
The December 2014 militant attack on the Peshawar Army Public School served as a catalyst forpolitical consensus when former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif convened an all parties’ conference
the day after the attack.679 This led, in the same month, to consultation with all political parties andto the establishment of a National Action Plan (NAP) in order to eliminate terrorism from Pakistan.680
Later in December 2014, Nawaz Sharif announced the formation of a federal counterterrorism force
with immediate effect.681 The political and security establishment set up temporary military courts
to try terrorism-related offences instead of pursuing the cases via an independent judiciary.682
Military courts
In January 2015, the 21st Constitutional Amendment Bill and the Pakistani Army Amendment Act
2015 were signed. Those amendments gave military courts the jurisdiction for two years to convict
civilians for terrorism-related offences.683 In August 2015, the Supreme Court upheld theparliamentary bill.684 The military courts were disbanded on 7 January 2017 after the legal provision
expired. In March 2017, the Parliament, the Senate and the President passed a legislation toreinstate the military courts for a two-year period.685 On 30 March 2019, the military courts’jurisdiction over civilians for terrorism-related offences ceased.686 The government failed to get
support from opposition parties for a constitutional amendment to extend the jurisdiction of
military courts again.687 Sources criticised the establishment of the military courts in the past and

677 Dawn, Backlog in courts, 29 June 2021, url
678 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2014, 2015, url, pp. 42-43
679 Express Tribune (The), Fight against terrorism: Defining moment, 25 December 2014, url
680 Express Tribune (The), Fight against terrorism: Defining moment, 25 December 2014, url; CRSS, The NAP Tracker The

Third Year Audit of the National Action Plan, June 2018, url
681 Dawn, Nawaz constitutes special committee to implement national Action Plan, 26 December 2014, url
682 Dawn, Military Courts part of National Action Plan: PM Nawaz, 30 December 2014, url; Economist (The), The man with aplan, 24 January 201, 24 January 2015, url
683 International Crisis Group, Revisiting Counter-terrorism Strategies in Pakistan: Opportunities and Pitfalls n°271, 22 July
2015, url, p. 3
684 DW, Pakistan’s military courts - a solution or a problem?, 7 August 2015, url
685 BBC News, Pakistan to reinstate secret military courts despite criticism, 22 March 2017, url; Dawn, Military courts
resume in Pakistan, 31 March 2017, url
686 ICJ, Military Injustice in Pakistan-Briefing Paper, January 2019, url, p. 3; Dawn, Military courts cease to function today,
31 March 2019, url
687 Dawn, Military courts cease to function today, 31 March 2019, url

68Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

warned that those courts could be used as a mechanism against political dissidents or groups that
had disturbed the military.688

1.5.4 Detention and death penalty
Detention
According to the latest report of the Federal Ombudsman, published in September 2020 and quoted
in a report of Amnesty International (AI) and Justice Project Pakistan, the total prison population of
Pakistan stands at 79 603.689
According to a December 2020 joint publication of Amnesty International Justice Project Pakistan,overcrowding in prisons is caused by a number of factors, including police arrest practices and thehigh proportion of people held in pre-trial detention, following the courts’ reluctance to grant bailand to order alternative non-custodial sentences.’690
Death penalty
On 16 December 2014, militants of the TTP attacked an army-run school in Peshawar. In theaftermath of this attack, the Pakistan authorities partially lifted a ‘de facto moratorium’ on the death
penalty that had been in place since 2008. On 10 March 2015, the Pakistani government declaredthat executions would resume for all capital crimes.691
According to numbers cited in a June 2021 article of the Washington Post 3 800 people are on deathrow in Pakistan.692 Amnesty International (AI) recorded in 2020 not a single execution in Pakistan,compared to 14 in 2019.693 AI recorded ‘a significantly lower number of death sentences in 2020 (49)compared to previous years which could partly be linked to a hiatus in court proceedings due to the
Covid-19 pandemic’.694

688 Dawn, Govt, opposition discussing military courts’ extension, 14 March 2019, url; HRCP, Military courts are anti-

democratic, 12 January 2019, url
689 AI and Justice Project Pakistan, Prisoners of the Pandemic – The Right to Health and COVID-19 in Pakistan, 13 December
2020, url, p. 22
690 AI and Justice Project Pakistan, Prisoners of the Pandemic – The Right to Health and COVID-19 in Pakistan, 13 December
2020, url, p. 9691 Diplomat (The), Pakistan and the Death Penalty, 21 April 2016, url; Economist (The), The man with the plan: Pakistan
after the school massacre, 24 January 2015, url; Justice Project Pakistan, Counting Executions, 6 July 2017, url, p. 1
692 Washington Post (The), Years after Pakistan’s terrorism crackdown, many with no terrorist ties face risk of execution, 24
June 2021, url
693 AI, Death sentences and executions 2019, 21 April 2020, url, p. 28; AI, Death Sentences and Executions 2020, 21 April
2021, url, p. 30
694 AI, Death Sentences and Executions 2020, 21 April 2021, url, p. 30

69

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

2. Security situation per region
2.1 Geographical overview of the violence
2.1.1 Trends in regional violence
ACLED provides a publicly available dataset to assess the geographical spread of violent incidents.
The maps in this section are based on the ACLED dataset695, which contains data about securityrelated incidents in Pakistan.
Map 2 and Map 3 show an overview of the violence in Pakistan by type of event for 2020 and thefirst seven months of 2021: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians.

Map 2: Battles, violence against civilians and explosions/remote violence in Pakistan 2020, based on ACLED data696

In 2020, most security incidents were coded by ACLED in the province of Balochistan (138), in Azad
Jammu and Kashmir (129) and the province of KP (127). The lowest number of security incidents

695 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;

Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2020-31 December 2020), update
3 September 2021, url
696 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;
Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2020-31 December 2020), update
3 September 2021, url

70Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

were recorded the province of Punjab (33), in the Federal Capital of Islamabad (2) and in GilgitBaltistan (2).697
According to ACLED in 2020, the event type battles occurred the most in Azad Kashmir (118). Most
explosions/remote violence occurred in the provinces of Balochistan (44) and KP (32). Violenceagainst civilians occurred the most in the provinces of Balochistan (42), KP (27) and in Sindh (23).698

Map 3: Battles, violence against civilians and explosions/remote violence in Pakistan, 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 based on
ACLED data699

Most security incidents in the first seven months of 2021 were recorded in Balochistan (203), theprovince of KP (127), the province of Punjab (81) and the province of Sindh (36). The lowest numberof security incidents was recorded in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (3) and the Federal Capital ofIslamabad (7). In Gilgit-Baltistan no security incidents were counted.700 According to ACLED in the

697 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;

Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2020-31 December 2020), update
3 September 2021, url
698 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;
Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021), update 3
September 2021, url
699 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;
Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021), update 3
September 2021, url
700 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;
Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021), update 3
September 2021, url

71Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

time period 1 January until 31 July 2021 the event type battles occurred the most in the provinces
Balochistan (81) and KP (72). Most explosions/remote violence in the provinces of Balochistan (84)and KP (29). Violence against civilians occurred the most in the provinces of Punjab (62), Balochistan(38) and in KP (26).701

2.1.2 Regional comparison of violence-related casualties
Regional comparison of violence-related casualties in 2020
This section provides figures of fatalities and attacks at regional level, according to the four sources
as described in the Introduction. It is impossible to present the figures in one comparative table, as
the three main sources about the security situation use different parameters and definitions.
PIPS only gave regional details for ‘terrorist attacks’ in its annual report covering 2020. PIPS focusedon the number of terrorist attacks (and consequent fatalities per province, and indicated percentagechanges in 2020 compared to 2019, see Figure ). Compared to 2019, PIPS observed a decrease in‘terrorist incidents’ (36 % overall). The number of deaths also decreased by 38 % compared to
2019.702 KP (including former FATA) and Balochistan were most affected by these attacks in 2020(see Figure ).703
RegionNo of% change

Persons % change
killedPersons
killedinjured% changeterrorist
incidents
2020
Balochistan

42

50 % ↘

95

44 % ↘

216

50 % ↘

Karachi

15

50 % ↗

17

21% ↗

65

32 % ↗

KP (including
former FATA)

79

37 % ↘

100

31% ↘

206

17% ↘

Punjab

7

40% ↗

5

76% ↘

59

44% ↗

Sindh

3

25 % ↘

3

25 % ↘

1

100 % ↗

Islamabad

-

-

-

-

Total

146

36 % ↘

38 % ↘

25% ↘

(excl. Karachi)

Figure 10. ‘Terrorist attacks’ by region - 2020 vs. 2019, based on PIPS data704

CRSS recorded most of the casualties in KP (including former FATA), followed by Balochistan and
Sindh in 2020.705 According to CRSS, in comparison with 2019, the province of Punjab witnessed thegreatest decrease in casualties in 2020. This includes casualties from terror attacks and counterterror operations.706

701 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;

Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021), update 3
September 2021, url
702 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 20-21, p. 23
703 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 20-21, p. 23
704 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 20-21, p. 23
705 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 4
706 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 5

72

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Figure presents a comparative regional analysis by CRSS of violence - related casualties in Pakistan
in 2020.

GB
AJK

ICT
Punjab
Balochistan
Sindh
KP - including FATA
0
Fatalities

100

200

300

400

500

600

Injuries

Figure 11. Comparative regional analysis of casualties in 2020, based on CRSS data707

PICSS gives data for the overall incidents per region. In 2020, in total 333 overall incidents wereobserved. In 2020, 429 people were killed and 619 others injured. PICSS documented most of thecasualties due to overall incidents (terrorist and other violent incidents) in Balochistan, followed by
the province of KP and former FATA.708
Regional comparison of violence-related casualties 1 January 2021– 31 July 2021
475 casualties were recorded by PIPS in incidents of ‘terrorist attacks’ during the first seven monthsof 2021. Data from PIPS indicated that most casualties of ‘terrorist attacks’ in the first half of 2021
took place in Balochistan (252 casualties) and KP (160 casualties).709
According to PICSS in total 654 casualties were recorded in 263 incidents of overall violence in thefirst seven months of 2021.710 According to PICSS most casualties were counted in the province of
Balochistan (313 casualties), the province of KP (270 casualties), and the province of Punjab (33casualties).711
According to the first and the second quarterly report of CRSS, most casualties in the first half of2021 occurred in Balochistan, followed by KP including former FATA followed by Sindh.712

707 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 4
708 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, pp. 3-5
709 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
710 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
711 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
712 Figures fatalities and injured counted together for the first and second quarter – for the second quarter the number offatalities/injured of the incident TLP was not counted in this number. CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April
2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url

73

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Figure 3 presents a comparative regional analysis by CRSS of violence–related casualties in Pakistan
in the first half of 2021 (quarter 1 and quarter 2 of 2021).713

Casualties by region Q1, 2021 and Q2, 2021
Data by CRSS
GB
AJK
ICT
Punjab
Balochistan
Sindh
KP - including FATA
0

20

40

Fatalities Q1

60
Injuries Q1

80100
Fatalities Q2

120

140

160

180

200

Injuries Q2

Figure 3. Comparative regional analysis of the casualties in Q1, 2020 and Q2, 2021, based on CRSS data714

713 Figures fatalities and injured counted together for the first and second quarter – for the second quarter the number offatalities/injured of the incident TLP was not counted in this number. CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April
2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
714 Figures fatalities and injured counted together for the first and second quarter – for the second quarter the number offatalities/injured of the incident TLP was not counted in this number. CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April
2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url

74

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

2.2 Security trends per geographic subdivision
In the following sections, security trends are explained in greater detail, per geographic subdivision.
In each provincial section, a general description of the province contains information on thegeography and population and on the background of the conflict, including the actors of the conflictin the province. The subsections describe recent trends in the security situation, including the natureof violence, frequency, targets, locations, and victims within a timeframe from 1 August 2020 until
31 July 2021. A separate part is dedicated to displacements. Under the subsections several incidents
are described. These should be read as illustrations of trends in the security situation and not as an
exhaustive list of incidents.

2.2.1 Punjab
General description of the province
Punjab province (see Map 1) is located in the east of Pakistan. It borders the Indian state of Jammu
and Kashmir in the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan in the east, the province ofSindh in the south, Balochistan and KP provinces in the west, Islamabad Federal Capital area and
Azad Kashmir in the north.715 The province of Punjab is divided into 9 divisions and 36 districts.716
Punjab can be distinguished in three zones: central, north and south Punjab with Lahore being theprovincial capital. ‘The military headquarters are in Northern Punjab, and it maintains most of its
forces in the province.’717 The southern parts of Punjab are among the poorest areas in the
country.718 Lahore is the second biggest city of Pakistan, after Karachi in Sindh province.719
Punjab is the most populated province of Pakistan and the second largest province by area.720
According to the population census 2017 published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the provinceof Punjab has a population of 109 989 655.721 According to UNDP, more than half of the population
is living in rural areas.722
Background of the violence and actors in the Punjab
A 2016 report by International Crisis Group stated that southern Punjab was considered as theregion where militant networks and extremists were present in the province of Punjab.723 In theaftermath of the Pulwama attack in February 2019 (see chapter 1.2 Actors in the conflict - Jaish-eMuhammad (JeM)), the Pakistani authorities made arrests and seized assets linked to militants tothis attack in the south of the province.724 As reported by Gandhara in November 2020, militantsfrom Balochistan and militants linked to the TTP, have hideouts in the district of Dera Ghazi Khan in
the south of Punjab.725 Associated Press reported in April 2021 that the Pakistani Taliban have apresence in areas of Punjab province that border the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and insouthern Punjab near southwestern Balochistan province.726 Media agencies reported in May and715 UNOCHA, Pakistan-Overview map [map], 3 December 2018, url
716 Samaa TV, 6 surprises from Pakistan’s 2017 census that should worry govt, 12 June 2021, url
717 McGill International Review (The),

South Punjab – Neglected and Politicized, 4 April 2019, url

718 Dawn, 20pc of Pakistanis live in 10 cities, census reveals, 29 August 2017, url; McGill International Review (The), South

Punjab – Neglected and Politicized, 4 April 2019, url
719 World Population Review, Population of Cities in Pakistan, 11 November 2020, url
720 UNDP Pakistan, Devolution of Power: Pathways to Actualization, 23 January 2021, url, p. 5
721 Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Final Results Census-2017-National, 19 May 2021, url
722 UNDP Pakistan, Devolution of Power: Pathways to Actualization, 23 January 2021, url, p. 5
723 International Crisis Group, Pakistan’s Jihadist Heartland: Southern Punjab, 30 May 2016, url
724 Guardian (The), Pakistan launches major crackdown on extremist groups, 8 March 2019, url; AP, Popular support for
militants complicates Pakistan crackdown, 8 March 2019, url
725 Gandhara, Suspected Al-Qaeda-Linked Militants Killed In Pakistan's Punjab Province, 7 November 2020, url
726 AP, Pakistani police say wanted militant killed in shootout, 11 April 2021, url

75

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

June 2021 that the CTD has carried out operations against militants in various areas of Punjab
province.727
Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
Security incidents
During 2020, there were 33 security incidents recorded by ACLED in Punjab province, of which 12
were coded as battles, 3 explosions/remote violence and 18 incidents of violence against civilians.728
Out of these 33 security incidents, most incidents occurred in Rawalpindi and Lahore.729
In 2020, PIPS counted seven ‘terrorist attacks’, compared to five in 2019. These attacks occurred in
Rawalpindi and Rahim Yar Khan.730 PICSS observed ten militant attacks in 2020. The number ofmilitant attacks in the province doubled compared to 2019.731
From 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2021, ACLED coded 82 violent events in Punjab province. 19 of whichwere coded as battles, 1 as explosions/remote violence and 62 incidents of violence against
civilians.732 In this timeframe in Rawalpindi most violent incidents were counted (16 incidents),
followed by Lahore and Faisalabad (11 incidents each).733
From 1 January to 31 July 2021, PIPS counted 11 incidents of which 3 were recorded as ‘terrorist
attacks’ in Punjab.734 PICSS mentioned 26 incidents of overall violence and 5 out of these incidents
were marked as militant attacks.735
Security trends 2020-2021
According to PIPS, five ‘terrorist attacks’ in the province ‘targeted apparently civilians, one attack
targeted the police and another attack targeted a gas pipeline’. PIPS stated that in 2020 Taliban
militants carried out six attacks in Rawalpindi.736 In April 2021, it was reported that the CTD arrested
several militants of Afghan based organisations in separate IBO’s in Lahore and Rawalpindi whowere behind several attacks in 2020 in the province.737 Mid-April 2021, in an exchange of fire the
CTD killed a militant in Rawalpindi who was linked to the TTP and LeJ.738
Illustrative incidents in 2020 and in the first seven months of 2021:•

On 12 June 2020, 1 person was killed and at least 12 were injured, when an IED blast
occurred in Saddar Bazaar.739

727 International News (The), CTD conducted 46 operations in seven days, 30 May 2021, url; Dawn, CTD arrests threemilitants, 20 June 2021, url
728 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;
Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2020-31 December 2020), update
3 September 2021, url
729 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;
Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2020-31 December 2020), update
3 September 2021, url
730 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2019, 5 January 2020, url, p. 50; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url,
p. 60
731 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 38
732 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;
Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021), 3 September
2021, url
733 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;
Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021), update 3
September 2021, url
734 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
735 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
736 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 60
737 Dawn, CTD arrests six militants in Lahore, Rawalpindi, 1 April 2021, url
738 Pakistan Today, Police say wanted militant killed in shootout, 11 April 2021, url
739 Nation (The), 1 killed, 12 injured in IED blast at Saddar, 13 June 2020, url

76

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation•••

On 13 December 2020, an explosion near Rawalpindi's Ganj Mandi police station injured
at least 25 people. It was the second attack near a police station within 10 days.740
On 4 December 2020, one person was killed and seven others were injured due to an
IED blast near a bus station.741
On 23 June 2021, a bomb blast near the residence of the founder of LeT in Lahore killed
three people and wounded 13 others.742

Casualties
In 2020, in Punjab province CRSS recorded in total 104 casualties (see Figure 4). According to CRSS,
most casualties in 2020 were counted among civilians. The lowest number of casualties due toviolence affected security personnel.743
In the first half of 2021, CRSS counted in total 59 casualties (see Figure 4). In the second quarter of2021, fatalities decreased in the province (from 22 to 8) compared to the first quarter of 2021. On
the other hand, the number of injured increased (from 3 to 26 injured) during the second quarter of2021.744
Casualties in the province of Punjab
2020

01/01/2021-30/06/2021

Fatalities

Injuries

Total

Fatalities

Injuries

Total

40

64

104

30

29

59

Figure 4. Casualties in the province of Punjab, 2020 and the first half of 2021, based on CRSS data745

Displacement
Among the consulted sources, no information was found about any conflict-induced displacementfrom areas in and to Punjab in 2020 and the first seven months of 2021.746

740 Dawn, At least 25 injured in explosion near Rawalpindi's Ganj Mandi police station, 13 December 2020, url
741 Dawn, 1 dead, 7 injured in Rawalpindi blast, 4 December 2020, url
742 Al Jazeera, Deadly blast in Pakistan near residence of armed group founder, 23 June 2021, url
743 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 25
744 There is a discrepancy between numbers in the Q1 and Q2 report. Cedoca chose to follow the data in the Q2 report.

CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
745 There is a discrepancy between numbers in the Q1 and Q2 report. Cedoca chose to follow the data in the Q2 report.
CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 25; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021,
url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
746 Websites consulted: http://www.unocha.org/pakistan;
https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/pakistan; http://reliefweb.int/country/pak77

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

2.2.2 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (including former FATA)
General description of the province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (see Map 1) is situated in the north of Pakistan and borders Afghanistan in thewest, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan in the east and north-east and Punjab province in the southeast.747 Peshawar is the provincial capital. The province is divided in 7 divisions and 34 districts.748
The population speaks Pashtu, followed by the local languages Hindko and Urdu.749 The province isthe third-largest province of Pakistan by area.750 According to the population census of 2017
published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the province of KP has a population of 30 508 920 andformer FATA of 4 993 044.751 According to UNDP, approximately 84 % of the population is living inrural areas.752
The FATA was a semi-autonomous tribal region in north-western Pakistan, consisting of seven tribal
agencies (districts) and six frontier regions, until being merged with KP on 31 May 2018.753 The
region of former FATA is referred to as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tribal districts (KPTDs). The tribal
agencies and frontier regions in former FATA have been re-designated as districts and subdivisions
of KP.754
The KP tribal districts are described separately and in detail below.
Background of the conflict and actors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (including former FATA)
In 2009, the Pakistani army engaged in a military operation against the TTP in KP. This offensive wasmarked by human rights violations and arbitrary arrests according to local residents.755 The army’s
counter-insurgency operations such as Zarb-e Azb and Radd-Ul Fasaad (see chapter 1.3 recent
security trends and armed confrontations) in KP (including former FATA) contributed to a higher
level of security in the province in the long-run.756 In May 2019, it was reported that the Pakistanistate was exercising control over Mingora city and peace returned to the Swat valley in 2019.757 In
July 2019, it was reported that in Dera Ismael Khan, multiple security operations were carried out inthe past but the area still continues to serve as ‘a fertile ground for extremists to breed andthrive’.758
In August 2019, Gandhara reported that members of the TTP have returned to Buner district andestablished checkpoints. Gandhara cited locals, who were unsure of the treat that the TTP in Buner
may pose. The military and the police were conducting search and strike operations.759 In Bajaur andMohmand districts, ‘the Taliban has forced local businesses to pay protection money’.760 In October
2020, Gandhara stated that the TTP has returned to some districts of Malakand Division.761 Lower

747 Government of Pakistan, Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Monsoon

Contingency Plan 2019, 6 July 2019, url, pp. 4-7
748 Samaa TV, 6 surprises from Pakistan’s 2017 census that should worry govt, 12 June 2021, url
749 Daily Sabah, Pakistan: A land of many languages, 9 March 2018, url
750 UNDP Pakistan, Devolution of Power: Pathways to Actualization, 23 January 2021, url, p. 5
751 Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Final Results Census-2017-National, 19 May 2021, url
752 UNDP Pakistan, Devolution of Power: Pathways to Actualization, 23 January 2021, url, p. 5
753 Asia Foundation (The), Dismantling Pakistan’s Tribal Areas, 24 October 2018, url
754 Express Tribune (The), Tribal areas re-designated as districts, sub-divisions, 12 June 2018, url; Express Tribune (The),
Notification issued for composition of new administrative divisions in Mohmand, Khyber, 20 July 2018, url
755 Dawn, Swat: an unquiet calm, 21 September 2014, url
756 Almeida, C., EASO, EASO COI Meeting Report: Pakistan, 16-17 October 2017; Rome, February 2018, url, pp. 21, 46
757 AA, Swat city center: From bloody square to business hub, 23 May 2019, url
758 Mohanty Ranjan, T., Pakistan: Dera Ismail Khan: Tenuous Control, 29 July 2019, SAIR, Volume 18, No. 5, url
759 Gandhara, Taliban See Resurgence In Northwestern Pakistan, 23 August 2019, url
760 Gandhara, Taliban Reemerges In Former Pakistani Stronghold, 26 October 2020, url
761 Gandhara, Taliban Reemerges In Former Pakistani Stronghold, 26 October 2020, url

78Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Dir has seen a rise in violent incidents in 2020.762 Local residents, cited by Gandhara in October 2020,
mentioned that several locals received death threats from the Taliban.763
At the end of May 2018, the FATA merged with KP. The newly merged tribal districts are governed
under provincial laws of KP. According to a report of International Crisis Group in August 2018, yearsof military operations in former FATA broke the TTP’s hold over most of the tribal belt but also
displaced millions of residents, destroyed homes and ruined livelihoods. In 2018, it was reported
that security in those areas has ‘improved but remains fragile’ according to International Crisis
Group.764 PIPS noted that in 2020 there was no considerable progress in the reform process informer FATA.765 In 2018 and 2019, it was reported that the networks of the TTP were still active
either in Afghanistan or in districts of KP such as Tank, Dera Ismael Khan, North and South
Waziristan.766 Fahad Nabeel stated the following on main trends and evolution in the tribal districtsin 2020 and 2021:‘If we study and compare the patterns of militant activities in tribal districts for both years,
we find similarities in trends. Last year, Bajaur, North Waziristan and South Waziristan
districts were the areas that encountered large number of militant attacks. This year, up till
July, these three districts continue to dominate the list of areas most impacted by militancy.
TTP was the main instability actor last year and this year as well. However, a major
noticeable trend is the frequency of militant attacks in the region, which has increased thisyear considering the fact that there are still five months left in this year. Moreover,deterioration of security situation in Afghanistan will continue to provide TTP with anopportunity to increase its activities in the region. Pakistani authorities are also fearful of
TTP militants entering the country under the disguise of refugees in near future.’767
Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (including
former FATA)
Security incidents
ACLED collected data on 127 violent events in KP province,768 from reports in open sources in theyear 2020, 68 of which were coded as battles, 32 as explosions/remote violence and 27 as violenceagainst civilians. North Waziristan stood out as the district where most incidents were reported with
34 violent events, followed by Peshawar with 15 violent events.769
PIPS documented a total of 155 incidents of violence770 in the province in 2020. This included 79‘terrorist attacks’, 28 anti-militant operational strikes by security forces, 9 armed clashes/encounters
between security/law enforcement personnel and militants, 10 foiled terror plots, 6 incidents offaith-based violence, three inter-militant clashes, 10 targeted attacks and 10 cross-border attacks.771
PICSS observed 109 militant attacks772 in 2020.773

762 Voicepk.net, Militancy rises again in Lower Dir, 8 October 2020, url
763 Gandhara, Taliban Reemerges In Former Pakistani Stronghold, 26 October 2020, url
764 International Crisis Group, Shaping a New Peace in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas, 20 August 2018, url, p. 2
765 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 39
766 International Crisis Group, Shaping a New Peace in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas, 20 August 2018, url, p. 3; New York Times(The), Pakistan’s Tribal Areas Are Still Waiting for Justice as Army Tightens Grip, 11 June 2019, url
767 Nabeel F., email, 4 August 2021
768 This number includes the FATA tribal districts
769 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;
Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2020-31 December 2020), update
3 September 2021, url
770 This number includes the FATA tribal districts
771 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 44
772 This number includes the FATA tribal districts
773 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 7

79

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

From 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2021, ACLED coded 127 violent events in KP province. 72 of whichwere coded as battles, 29 as explosions/remote violence and 26 as violence against civilians.774 In
this timeframe in North Waziristan most violent incidents were counted (30), followed by South
Waziristan (15) and Bajaur (14).775
From 1 January to 31 July 2021, PIPS counted 77 incidents of which 47 were recorded as ‘terrorist
attacks’ in KP.776 PICSS mentioned 121 incidents of overall violence and 72 out of these incidents
were marked as militant attacks.777
Security trends 2020-2021
According to PIPS a majority of the ‘terrorist attacks’ (50 out of 79) in the province targeted the
security forces.778 Half of these attacks were targeted killings directed against police officers.779 The
International News stated that in the province, between 2000 and July 2021, 1 505 police officers
were killed.780 In the first half of 2021, attacks on the police continued in KP. In July 2021, after some
attacks in the province, the police across KP increased security measures.781
Attacks against civilians declined in 2020 according to PIPS and were mostly documented in thetribal districts of the province.782 Attacks were also directed against polio/health workers anddevelopment labourers in the province. The TTP attacked polio workers and personnel of FWO(Frontier Works Organization) in Swabi, Bajaur and North Waziristan.783 Media reported about
attacks against the police protecting polio workers during a vaccination campaign in the province inJune and July 2021.784
PIPS mentioned also incidents of communal and sectarian related violence in the province in 2020. It
made a distinction between sectarian-related terrorist attacks that occurred in Kurram tribal district
and in Kohat district and faith-based violence that mainly occurred in Peshawar.785
Illustrative incidents in 2020 and in the first seven months of 2021:••

In the evening of 31 August 2020, three police officers were injured when their vehicle
was hit by an IED in Maidan area of Lower Dir.786
On 27 October 2020, a madrassa in Peshawar was targeted. Due to a bomb blast, atleast nine students were killed and more than 80 injured.787

774 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;

Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021), update 3
September 2021, url
775 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;
Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021), update 3
September 2021, url
776 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
777 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
778 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 43
779 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 46
780 International News (The), 1,505 policemen martyred in KP since 2000, 27 July 2021, url
781 International News (The), Security upgraded in KP after recent attacks on police, 21 July 2021, url
782 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 47
783 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 48-49
784 Dawn, Policeman guarding polio vaccine team shot dead in Peshawar, 1 August 2021, url; Dawn, Two police officers
protecting polio team shot dead in Mardan, 9 June 2021, url;
785 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 49-50
786 Dawn, Three injured as bomb targets police mobile in Dir, 1 September 2020, url
787 Gandhara, Deadly Bombing Strikes Religious School In Northwest Pakistan, 27 October 2020, url

80Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

On 18 November 2020, a FC soldier was killed during an attack on an office of a secretsecurity agency in Charsadda by unidentified gunmen.788
On 2 December 2020, a police officer was killed when he was returning to the police
station after performing security duty with a polio team in Bannu district.789
In January, February and April 2021, three Afghan Taliban leaders were killed in
Peshawar.790
On 12 January 2021, a police officer on security duty for a polio vaccination team was
killed in Latambar area of Karak district.791
On 4 April 2021, a judge of an anti-terrorism court in Swat and four other persons were
killed during an attack when travelling from Peshawar to Islamabad.792
On 9 May 2021, one police officer was killed and another one injured during an attackon their vehicle by unidentified persons in Lakki Marwat district. This was the fourth
attack directed against the police in this district in the first three months of 2021.793
On 14 July 2021, a bus carrying Chinese workers to the Dasu hydropower project in thenorth of the province crashed into a ravine after an explosion. At least 12 people were
killed. Initial reporting by the Pakistan government spoke of a mechanical defect; theChinese authorities attributed the cause to an attack.794 According to the Diplomat, theTTP denied being responsible but mentioned that a splinter faction possibly was
involved.795
On 1 August 2021, gunmen killed a police officer returning home after security duty with
polio vaccination workers in Peshawar.796

Casualties
According to PIPS in 155 incidents of violence of various types, 253 people were killed and 258
people wounded in the province in 2020.797 PIPS mentioned that the majority of the casualties in theprovince were security force personnel in 2020.798 In 2020, in KP province CRSS recorded in total 505
casualties (see Figure ).799 According to CRSS, most casualties in 2020 in the tribal districts werecounted among security and government officials. This was followed by militants and civilians.800 In
KP, civilians were most affected. Security personnel reported the lowest number of deaths.801
In the first half of 2021, CRSS counted in total 217 casualties (see Figure ). The total number ofcasualties in the province decreased slightly in the second quarter of 2021 (102 casualties) compared

788 International News (The), Attack on sensitive agency office: FC man martyred, attacker killed in Charsadda, 19

November 2020, url
789 Dawn, Police official on polio duty shot dead in Bannu, 3 December 2020, url
790 Arab News, Third Taliban leader killed in Peshawar in past 4 months, 21 April 2021, url
791 TNN, Policeman on polio team security duty shot dead, 12 January 2021, url
792 Dawn, Swat ATC judge among four killed in 'targeted attack' near Ambar Interchange in KP, 4 April 2021, url
793 Express Tribune (The), Cop martyred in drive-by shooting on police vehicle, 10 May 2021, url
794 Al Jazeera, Pakistan bus ‘blast’ kills at least 12, including nine Chinese, 14 July 2021, url
795 Diplomat (The), Chaos in Afghanistan Threatens CPEC, 19 July 2021, url
796 Dawn, Policeman guarding polio vaccine team shot dead in Peshawar, 1 August 2021, url
797 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 44
798 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 45
799 These numbers include Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and former FATA, numbers used from table 1 CRSS in CRSS, Annual
Security Report 2020, 10 February 2020, url, p. 4
800 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 23
801 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 24

81

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

to the first quarter in 2021 (115 casualties).802 This is mainly due to a decrease in fatalities in thesecond quarter of 2021 (74 fatalities) compared to the first quarter of 2021 (102 fatalities).803

Casualties in the province of KP (including former FATA)
2020

01/01/2021-30/06/2021

Fatalities

Injuries

Total

Fatalities

Injuries

Total

313

192

505

174

43

217

Figure 14. Casualties in the province of KP, 2020 and the first half of 2021, based on CRSS data804

Displacement
In July 2021, TNN reported that after nine years the repatriation of IDPs of Tirah-Rajgal from
Kokikhel tribe in Khyber tribal district started to Zar Manzra and Mehrban Killi, in Tirah-Rajgal.805
According to UNOCHA, until August 2021, 16 483 families remain displaced in the province.806
Among the consulted sources no information was found about any conflict-induced displacementfrom areas in and to KP in 2020 and the first seven months of 2021.807
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tribal districts (KPTDs)
For a better understanding of the security situation in this region, the KP tribal districts are firstdescribed in general terms and further in more detail.
GeneralMansur Khan Mahsud described the security situation for the KPTDs on 11 June 2021 as follows in2020 and 2021:‘South and North Waziristan districts are the main hub of militancy in 2021. More than 90 %terrorist activity has been reported in these two districts. Some targets killing incidents havebeen reported in Khyber tribal districts and a couple of attacks have been reported in Bajaur
district. The rest of the three tribal districts namely Orakzai, Mohmand and Kurram
remained largely peaceful. After the reunification of the Pakistani militant groups in 2020
TTP has become bolder and are regularly attacking security forces, government officials andpro-government Maliks (the chiefs of a village or community) and elders in South and North
Waziristan tribal districts. It is said that the TTP is going to increase its militants’ activities
significantly in the coming months. South and North Waziristan districts are the main hub ofmilitancy in 2021. More than 90 % terrorist activity has been reported in these two districts.
802 There is a discrepancy between numbers in the Q1 and Q2 report. Cedoca chose to follow the data in the Q2 report.

CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
803 There is a discrepancy between numbers in the Q1 and Q2 report. Cedoca chose to follow the data in the Q2 report.
CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
804 There is a discrepancy between numbers in the Q1 and Q2 report. Cedoca chose to follow the data in the Q2 report.
CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 24; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021,
url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
805 TNN, Repatriation of displaced families of Tirah begins, 10 July 2021, url
806 UNOCHA Pakistan, email, 4 August 2021 - data of PDMA KP - courtesy of UNOCHA Pakistan
807 Websites consulted: url; url; url82

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Some targets killing incidents have been reported in Khyber tribal districts and a couple ofattacks have been reported in Bajaur district. The rest of the three tribal districts namely
Orakzai, Mohmand and Kurram remained largely peaceful.’808
Abdul Basit also indicated the following on 29 July 2021:‘After witnessing an improvement in the security situation between 2015 and 2019, things
deteriorated in 2020 with terrorist attacks by TTP become near daily occurrence on the
Pakistani security forces. TTP reunified in August 2020 under Nur Wali Mehsud who hasreorganized, disciplined revied the militant group. The US withdrawal from Afghanistan andthe Taliban’s triumphant jihadist narrative will serve as a source of strength and inspiration
for TTP. In his recent interview to CNN, Nur Wali has termed Taliban’s victory against the US
as the win of all the Muslims and vowed to continue terrorist attacks on the Pakistanisecurity forces in the ex-FATA region. In sum, ex-FATA region’s deteriorated during 2020 andwill decline further in the coming months due to the civil war in Afghanistan and its
blowback. In 2021, the upward trajectory of terrorist attacks in the ex-FATA region
continued even though Pakistan has fenced a major portion of its border with Afghanistan.
The ambushes and IED attacks against the Pakistani security forces have increased in Northand South Waziristan Agencies. Three main fault lines in the ex-FATA region are i) the
Pakistani state vs TTP, ii) the Pakistani state vs PTM and iii) PTM vs TTP.’809
FRC stated in its annual report of 2020 that, compared to 2019, there was an increase of 29 % inmilitancy incidents in 2020. In total FRC counted 169 violent incidents (137 terrorism and 32
counterterrorism incidents) in 2020.810 According to data provided by FRC, in the time period from 1
January 2021 to 31 July 2021 251 violent incidents (terrorism and counterterrorism incidents)
occurred.811
Figure 5 shows an overview of the violent incidents in the KPTDS in 2020 and the first seven monthsof 2021.
Incidents of violence inthe KPTDs

2020

01/01/2021-31/07/2021

Incidents

Persons
killedPersons
injuredIncidents

Persons
killedPersons
InjuredBajaur

36

47

46

31

18

18

Mohmand

2

4

2

8

8

4

Kurram

3

0

2

8

11

7

Khyber

22

14

5

33

28

12

Orakzai

4

5

2

3

1

0

North Waziristan

64

121

77

107

131

58

South Waziristan

38

34

44

61

63

54

Total

169

226

164

251

260

153

808 Khan Mahsud, M., email, 11 June 2021
809 Basit, A., email, 29 July 2021
810 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 1
811 Khan Mahsud, M., email, 6 August 2020 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of FRC

83

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Figure 5. Overview of the violent incidents in the KPTDS in 2020 and the first seven months of 2021, based on FRC data812

Figure 6 (see below) gives an overview of the nature of violence in the tribal districts in 2019, 2020
and the first seven months of 2021 showing that the nature of the incidents is diverse: from search
operations by the military to attacks on civilians and security force personnel by militants. In 2020,
the number of attacks on civilians and security forces increased compared to 2019.813 In the firstseven months of 2021, the attacks on civilians and security forces increased compared to 2020.814
Nature of incidents of violencein the KPTDs

Incidents 2019

Incidents 2020

Incidents
01/01/2021- 31/07/20
21

Attacks on civilians

48

86

124

Attacks on security forces

54

54

81

Attacks on peace forces

4

-

-

Clashes between militantgroups0--

Search operations

54

28

46

Aerial strikes

0

-

-

Drone attacks

0

-

-

Total

160

169

251

Figure 6. Nature of violent incidents in the FATA in 2019, 2020 and the first seven months of 2021, based on FRC data815

Figure 7 (see below) gives an overview of the nature of the casualties in the tribal districts in 2019,2020 and the first seven months of 2021. In 2020, FRC counted a total of 390 casualties (226 killedand 164 injured) in all the KPTDs, marking a significant increase of 39 % in overall casualties
compared to 2019.816 According to Figure 7 security forces were the most affected target during theyear 2020. In the first seven months of 2021, most casualties were civilians followed by security
forces (see Figure 7). The number of casualties among civilians in the first seven months increased
compared to 2020.817
Nature ofcasualties in the
KPTDs
Militants

Casualties 2019

Casualties 2020

KilledinjuredKilledInjured

16

10

81

20

Casualties 01/01/202131/07/2021
KilledInjured69

3812 For the 2020 data Cedoca noticed a discrepancy in the FRC report. On p.3 there is written in the graph: Bajaur 36

incidents, Khyber 22 incidents, South Waziristan 38 incidents, furtherdown in the report the data differ (Bajaur 35
incidents, Khyber 21 incidents and South Waziristan 39 incidents). Cedoca chose to follow the data on p. 3. FRC, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, pp. 4-12; Khan Mahsud, M., email, 6 August2020 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of FRC
813 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 1
814 Khan Mahsud, M., email, 6 August 2020 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of FRC
815 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2019, 13 January 2020, url, p. 1; FRC, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 1; Khan Mahsud, M., email, 6 August2020 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of FRC
816 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 2
817 Khan Mahsud, M., email, 6 August 2020 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of FRC

84

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Civilians

34

52

80

63

116

66

Security forces

54

107

65

81

75

84

Peace
forces/Aman
Lashkar

6

2

-

-

-

-

110

171

226

164

260

153

Total

Figure 7. Nature of casualties in the tribal districts in 2019, 2020 and first seven months of 2021, based on FRC data818

Methods used by militants included IEDs, suicide attacks, cross-border attacks, clashes between
militant groups, kidnappings and militant ambushes on security personnel. The use of targetedkillings is the most used tactic by militants in 2020. The use of IEDs is observed in all tribal districts.819
On 11 June 2021, Mansur Khan Mahsud stated the following on the main targets of militant groups
in the KPTDs:‘Army, [p]olice, pro-government tribal Maliks and elders and civil servants and the TTP
militants which have surrendered to the army and now working for the army are the main
target of militant groups in the tribal districts of former FATA.’820
Abdul Basit mentioned the following on the main targets of militant groups in the KPTDs:‘The Pakistani security forces, tribal elders, NGO workers and the border fence.’821
Below a description is given of the recent security trends in each tribal district in 2020 and the firstseven months of 2021.
Bajaur tribal district
Bajaur is located in the north of the province of KP and shares a border with Afghanistan’s eastern
Kunar Province to the north-west, and Mohmand tribal district in the west.822 According to thecensus of 2017, the population of Bajaur tribal district is 1 090 987.823
FRC documented 36 violent incidents in 2020 in Bajaur.824 This represents an increase of 133 % interms of incidents compared to 2019 (15 violent incidents). According to FRC, 93 casualties werecounted in 2020 (47 killed and 46 injured).825 PIPS counted 9 ‘terrorist attacks’ in Bajaur which killed
7 and injured 4 people in 2020.826 According to FRC, IEDs were used in 7 violent incidents.827
From 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2021, FRC documented 31 violent incidents in Bajaur, which caused
36 casualties (18 killed and 18 injured).828 From 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2021, PIPS counted seven

818 FRC, KPTD Annual Security Report 2019, 13 January 2021, url, p. 1; FRC, KPTD Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January

2021, url, p. 2; Khan Mahsud, M., email, 6 August 2020 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of FRC
819 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 14 (diagram)
820 Khan Mahsud, M., email, 11 June 2021
821 Basit, A., email, 29 July 2021
822 CRSS, FATA Tribes: Finally Out of Colonial Clutches? Past, Present and Future, 12 July 2018, url, p. 22
823 Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Final Results Census-2017 – District Tables FATA, 19 May 2021, url
824 For the 2020 data Cedoca noticed a discrepancy in the FRC report. On p. 3 there is written in the graph: Bajaur 36
incidents, futhterdown in the report the data differ (Bajaur 35 incidents). Cedoca chose to follow the data on p. 3. FRC,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 3
825 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 5
826 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 43
827 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 15
828 Khan Mahsud, M., email, 6 August 2020 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of FRC

85

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation‘terrorist attacks’ in Bajaur tribal district. Six people were killed and five injured.829 Groups
responsible for these attacks were local Taliban, the TTP and unknown militants.830
According to PIPS in 2020, tribal elders, political leaders and health workers were the target of
militant attacks.831 In 2021, Media reports continued to relate on attacks against political leaders andtribal elders in Bajaur. In February 2021, a tribal elder was killed in a remote-controlled blast in Asbal
Targhao area. 832In March 2021, a local activist of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) was injured in aremote-controlled bomb blast in Damadola area.833 In June 2021, unknown assailants killed an
Awami National Party (ANP) local leader and injured two others, including his son, in an attack on his
car.834 In July 2021, the tribal elders of Bajaur protested because the police ordered the withdrawal
of security from tribal elders, lawmakers, their relatives, political leaders and trader leaders acrossBajaur tribal district.835
Khyber tribal district
Khyber tribal district borders with Afghanistan on the west, Orakzai tribal district on the south,
Kurram tribal district on the south-west and Peshawar on the east. This district is divided into three
sub-administrative units: Bara, Jamrud and Landi Kotal.836 According to the census of 2017, Khybertribal district has a population of 984 246.837
In 2020, FRC stated that 22 violent incidents occurred in Khyber tribal district.838 This represents anincrease of 75 % compared to 2019 when 12 violent incidents were reported by FRC. According to
FRC 19 casualties were counted in 2020 (14 killed and 5 injured).839 PIPS counted three ‘terrorist
attacks’ in Khyber, killing two and injuring one person in 2020.840
From 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2021, FRC documented 33 violent incidents in Khyber, which caused
40 casualties (28 killed and 12 injured).841 From 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2021, PIPS counted not asingle ‘terrorist attack’ in Khyber tribal district.842
The Pakistani army announced in July 2017 that it had launched a new military operation in Khyber
Agency’s Rajgal Valley, the operation Khyber-IV. Hideouts and training camps of militants weredestroyed in this offensive.843 The Pakistani army carried out in total four military operations in
Khyber.844 No information on further military operations after July 2017 could be found.
Kurram tribal district
Kurram shares its border largely with Afghanistan (Nangarhar and Paktia provinces). In the east thisagency borders Orakzai, Khyber and North Waziristan in the south. It is divided into three

829 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
830 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
831 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021 url, p. 48
832 International News (The), Tribal elder killed in Bajaur blast, 23 February 2021, url
833 International News (The), JUI activist injured in Bajaur bomb blast, 26 March 2021, url
834 Dawn, ANP leader shot dead, son injured in Bajaur attack, 22 June 2021, url
835 Dawn, Bajaur elders rally against withdrawal of security, 14 July 2021, url
836 CRSS, FATA Tribes: Finally Out of Colonial Clutches? Past, Present and Future, 12 July 2018, url, pp. 14-15
837 Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Final Results Census-2017 – District Tables FATA, 19 May 2021, url
838 For the 2020 data Cedoca noticed a discrepancy in the FRC report. On p. 3 there is written in the graph: Bajaur 22

incidents, furtherdown in the report the data differ (Khyber 21 incidents). Cedoca chose to follow the data on p. 3. FRC,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 3
839 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 7
840 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021 url, p. 43
841 Khan Mahsud, M., email, 6 August 2020 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of FRC
842 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
843 Dawn, Operation Khyber-IV: army clears terrorist strongholds in Rajgal valley, 23 July 2017, url
844 PIPS, Security Report 2017, 7 January 2018, url, p. 122

86

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

administrative units: Lower Kurram, Upper Kurram and Central Kurram. Parachinar is the main
capital of Kurram Agency. Kurram has a significant Shia population. Kurram agency has a history of
sectarian violence between the Sunni and the Shia population.845 According to the census of 2017,
Kurram tribal district has a population of 615 372.846
In 2020, a slight increase in violent incidents was observed by FRC in this tribal district compared to
2019. In total, FRC counted three violent incidents in 2020 compared to one in 2019. The same
upward trend was noted in the number of casualties in 2020. FRC counted 19 casualties (1 killed, 18
injured) in 2020 compared to 2 casualties (2 injured) in 2019.847 PIPS mentioned 3 ‘terrorist attacks’in 2020 in Kurram in which 2 people were killed and 17 injured.848
From 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2021, FRC documented 8 violent incidents in Kurram which caused
18 casualties (11 killed and 7 injured).849 From 1 January until 31 July 2021, PIPS counted one‘terrorist attack’ in Kurram tribal district in which one person got killed.850 According to PIPS this
attack was carried out by affiliates of IS.851
In May and July 2020, Kurram tribal districts witnessed two sectarian-related bomb blasts.852 In May
2021, clashes between the protesters and personnel of the law enforcement agencies occurred in
Sadda. In these clashes, eight people were injured.853 At the end of June 2021, 16 labourers working
at a mobile tower site in Kurram tribal district were kidnapped by militants. After one day, ten
labourers were released. Security force personnel organised a search operation whereby threemilitants and two security force personnel were killed. Five labourers were rescued after an
exchange of fire with militants. The body of one labourer was found.854
Mohmand tribal district
Mohmand borders Bajaur in the north and Khyber in the south. In the east, it borders Malakand andCharsadda districts and Peshawar district in the south-east.855 According to the census of 2017,
Mohmand tribal district has a population of 474 345.856
FRC counted two violent incidents during 2020, killing four people and injuring two. Compared to2019, the situation in this agency slightly improved in 2020 in terms of violent incidents andcasualties.857 According to PIPS, one ‘terrorist attack’ has taken place in Mohmand tribal district in2020 without any casualties.858
From 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2021, FRC documented 8 violent incidents in Mohmand whichcaused 12 casualties (8 killed, 4 injured).859 From 1 January 2020 to 31 July 2021, PIPS counted not asingle ‘terrorist attack’ in Mohmand tribal district.860

845 CRSS, FATA Tribes: Finally Out of Colonial Clutches? Past, Present and Future, 12 July 2018, url, pp. 16-17
846 Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Final Results Census-2017 – District Tables FATA, 19 May 2021, url
847 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 8
848 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 43
849 Khan Mahsud, M., email, 6 August 2020 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of FRC
850 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
851 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
852 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 43
853 International News (The), Eight injured as FC men, protesters clash in Kurram, 23 May 2021, url
854 Express Tribune (The), Five abducted labourers rescued after gunfight with terrorists: ISPR, 15 July 2021, url
855 CRSS, FATA Tribes: Finally, Out of Colonial Clutches? Past, Present and Future, 12 July 2018, url, p. 22
856 Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Final Results Census-2017 – District Tables FATA, 19 May 2021, url
857 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 6
858 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 43
859 Khan Mahsud, M., email, 6 August 2020 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of FRC
860 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS

87

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

In January 2021, a FC soldier was killed in a cross-border attack from Afghanistan in Mohmand tribal
district.861
Orakzai tribal district
Orakzai shares its borders with Khyber tribal district in the north, Kohat in the east, the districts ofKohat and Hangu in the south, and Kurram tribal district in the west. Administratively, it is divided
into Upper and Lower Orakzai.862 According to the census of 2017, the population stands at
254 303.863
Four incidents of violence were counted by FRC during 2020 compared to one in 2019. FRC reported
seven casualties (five killed, two injured) in 2020.864 According to PIPS, two ‘terrorist attacks’ havetaken place in Orakzai tribal district in 2020 which caused 4 casualties (two killed, two injured).865
From 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2021, FRC documented 3 violent incidents in Orakzai which caused
one casualty (1 killed).866 From 1 January until 31 July 2021, PIPS counted not a single ‘terrorist
attack’ in Orakzai tribal district.867
In January 2021, security force personnel conducted a search operation. They found explosives,bomb and improvised explosive device (IED) making gadgets and other weapons in Arakhi Killay inthe central part of Orakzai tribal district.868
North Waziristan tribal district
North Waziristan borders Kurram tribal district and Hangu in the north and Karak and Bannu districtsin the east, South Waziristan tribal district in the south and Afghanistan in the west.869 According to
the census of 2017, North Waziristan has a population of 540 546.870
FRC describes the security situation in North Waziristan as ‘turbulent’ in 2020.871 FRC noted anincrease in violent incidents and an increase in casualties in 2020 compared to 2019. In 2020, FRC
counted 64 violent incidents in 2020 compared to 45 violent incidents in 2019. FRC counted 198
casualties (121 killed, 77 injured) in 2020 compared to 160 casualties (55 killed, 105 injured) in
2019.872 According to PIPS, 31 ‘terrorist attacks’ have taken place in North Waziristan tribal districtin 2020 killing 50 and injuring 55 people.873 According to PIPS, 24 of these attacks targeted security
and law enforcement agencies.874
From 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2021, FRC documented 107 violent incidents in North Waziristan
which caused 189 casualties (131 killed and 58 injured).875 In the first seven months of 2021, PIPS
counted 15 ‘terrorist attacks’ in North Waziristan tribal district. In total PIPS counted 35 casualties(19 killed and 16 injured). The attacks were carried out by local Taliban and the TTP.876

861 TNN, Soldier martyred in cross-border attack in Mohmand, 7 January 2021, url
862 CRSS, FATA Tribes: Finally Out of Colonial Clutches? Past, Present and Future, 12 July 2018, url, pp. 22-23
863 Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Final Results Census-2017 – District Tables FATA, 19 May 2021, url
864 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 9865 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 44
866 Khan Mahsud, M., email, 6 August 2020 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of FRC
867 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
868 International News (The), Explosives, weapons recovered in Orakzai, 4 January 2021, url
869 CRSS, FATA Tribes: Finally Out of Colonial Clutches? Past, Present and Future, 12 July 2018, url, p. 20
870 Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Final Results Census-2017 – District Tables FATA, 19 May 2021, url
871 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 9
872 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, pp. 10-11
873 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 43
874 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 45
875 Khan Mahsud, M., email, 6 August 2020 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of FRC
876 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS

88

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Before 2014, North Waziristan was considered as a home base of al-Qaeda, Pakistani Taliban and the
Haqqani-network.877 In June 2014, Operation Zarb-e Azb was initiated in North Waziristan.878 The
area was cleared of militants according to the Pakistani military.879 In the wake of multiple incidents
against the security forces and to prevent any ‘untoward situation’, Section 144 was imposed forthirty days in June 2019.880 Ahead of the provincial elections, Section 144 was lifted on
8 July 2019.881 Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers district administrations to
issue orders in public interest that may place a ban on an activity for a specific period of time.882 In
Miranshah, a pamphlet issued by the TTP in July 2019 warned citizens not to play music in public,
not to allow women freedom of movement or vaccinate their children against polio, or they would‘face dire consequences’.883
Targeted killings increased in 2020 in North Waziristan.884 Gandhara cited that more than 50 people
were killed due to targeted killings in 2020.885 In the first half of 2021, targeted killings were also
observed in North Waziristan.886 According to a May 2021 article by the Express Tribune, 20 people
were killed in the first four months of 2021.887 Main targets of the killings were tribal leaders,
activists and government officials.888 In November and December 2020, multiple targeted killings
against tribal elders were reported.889 In July 2021, two tribal elders were killed, one in Miranshah
and the other in Mir Ali.890 In February 2021, four female aid workers were killed near the village of
Ippi, east of Mir Ali.891 On 24 July 2021, a local cricket player also was killed in a targeted killing in
Mir Ali.892 Local residents, cited in Gandhara, stated that most of the targeted killings were linked to
the regrouping of militants of the Taliban.893 On 28 July 2021, two tribal elders were killed in atargeted killing by unidentified armed men in Miranshah.894
North Waziristan witnessed also attacks on security force personnel in 2020 and the first half of2021.895 In October 2020, six soldiers were killed in an IED attack near Razmak.896 In May 2021, a
soldier was killed in a cross-border attack.897 In March 2021, the security forces conducted raids on

877 BBC News, North Waziristan: What happened after militants lost the battle?, 8 March 2017, url
878 Jamestown Foundation, The Successes and Failures of Pakistan's Operation Zarb-e-Azb, 10 July 2015, url; BBC News,

North Waziristan: What happened after militants lost the battle?, 8 March 2017, url
879 Nation (The), Operation Zarb-e-Azb: Two years of success, 6 September 2016, url; Dawn, After Army's clean-up of North
Waziristan, locals want civilian govt to get in action, 18 May 2017, url
880 Dawn, Section 144 imposed in North Waziristan due to 'current law and order situation', 10 June 2019, url
881 TNN, Section 144 lifted in North Waziristan ahead of elections, 8 July 2019, url
882 Government of Pakistan, Code of Criminal Procedure [Pakistan], Act No. V, 1 July 1898, url
883 Dawn, TTP warns against playing music, women going out alone in Miramshah, 1 August 2019, url
884 Gandhara, In Waziristan, Locals Worried Over Taliban Regrouping, 16 September 2020, url; Gandhara, Pakistan's North
Waziristan Plagued By Targeted Killings, 18 January 2021, url
885 Gandhara, Pakistan's North Waziristan Plagued By Targeted Killings, 18 January 2021, url
886 BBC News, Mourning the sisters killed as they taught handicrafts, 27 February 2021, url; Express Tribune (The), Targetedkillings on the rise in N Waziristan, 11 May 2021, url
887 Express Tribune (The), Targeted killings on the rise in N Waziristan, 11 May 2021, url
888 Gandhara, Pakistan's North Waziristan Plagued By Targeted Killings, 18 January 2021, url
889 Gandhara, Four Pakistani Tribal Elders Killed In Northwestern Tribal District, 30 November 2020, url; Gandhara, Two
More Tribal Elders Shot Dead In Northwestern Pakistan; Six Total Killed This Week, 2 December 2020, url
890 Dawn, Another elder shot dead in N. Waziristan, 9 July 2021, url; Dawn, Tribal elder shot dead in North Waziristan, 5July 2021, url
891 Al Jazeera, Pakistani female aid workers shot dead by assailants, 22 February 2021, url
892 TNN, Local cricketer shot dead in North Waziristan, 25 July 2021, url
893 Gandhara, Pakistan's North Waziristan Plagued By Targeted Killings, 18 January 2021, url
894 TNN, Two tribal elders shot dead in North Waziristan, 29 July 2021, url
895 BBC News, Mourning the sisters killed as they taught handicrafts, 27 February 2021, url; PIPS, Pakistan Security Report
2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 45
896 International News (The), Six Pak Army soldiers martyred in North Waziristan IED blast: ISPR, 15 October 2020, url
897 TNN, Soldier martyred in North Waziristan cross-border attack, 23 May 2021, url

89Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situationsuspected hideouts of militants in the tribal district.898 In March 2021, eight militants were killedduring a clash with security forces in Boya and Dosali areas of North Waziristan.899 In May 2021,
security forces conducted an IBO in Dosali area. During an exchange of fire, three soldiers and two
militants were killed.900
South Waziristan tribal district
South Waziristan shares its border in the north with North Waziristan, and borders Bannu and Lakki
Marwat districts in the north-east, the tribal area adjoining Tank district and Dera Ismail Khan districtin the east, Zhob district of Balochistan Province and Dera Ismail Khan district in the south, andAfghanistan in the west.901 According to the census of 2017, South Waziristan Agency has apopulation of 675 215.902
FRC stated that the situation in South Waziristan remained ‘disturbed’ because the frequency of theviolent incidents increased ‘significantly’ in 2020. FRC recorded 38 violent incidents in 2020903,
compared to 27 in 2019, which represents an increase of 44 %.904 FRC counted 78 casualties (34killed, 44 injured) in 2020. This is a slight decrease compared to 2019 when FRC counted 46
casualties in 2019 (17 killed, 29 injured).905 According to PIPS, 6 ‘terrorist attacks’ have taken placein South Waziristan tribal district in 2020, killing 7 and injuring 13 people.906
From 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2021, FRC documented 61 violent incidents in South Waziristan,which caused 117 casualties (63 killed and 54 injured).907 From 1 January until 31 July 2021, PIPS
counted 7 ‘terrorist attacks’ in South Waziristan tribal district in which 24 people were killed and 21
were injured. The attacks were carried out by local Taliban.908
In July 2018, RFE/RL reported that there was a ‘renewed Taliban influence in Waziristan’. Locals callthis armed group ‘the Aman (Peace) Committee, which mostly operated as a government-backed
militia’.909 Mona Kanwal Sheikh, expert on militant movements in Pakistan, stated in 2018 about thepresence of the Taliban in South Waziristan:‘One “lump” of the Pakistani Taliban is, however, still active in South Waziristan. They areorganized in one of the peace committees in the district and are also called the “goodTaliban”, the ones who the military is not targeting. They are no longer part of the larger
umbrella of TTP, and they have been granted the right to control an area in South
Waziristan.’910
According to Kanwal Sheikh, the Taliban in Wana, in South Waziristan, is organised under four
different commanders and with ‘their own police and public morality “corps” and their own justicesystem’. They also collect taxes from local businesses.911 In April 2019, the Taliban in Wana warned

898 BBC News, Mourning the sisters killed as they taught handicrafts, 27 February 2021, url; Gandhara, Pakistani Security

Forces Claim Eight Militants Killed In Waziristan Raids, 6 March 2021, url
899 TNN, 8 terrorists killed in North Waziristan clashes, 7 March 2021, url
900 TNN, 3 soldiers martyred, 2 terrorists killed in North Waziristan IBO, 6 May 2021, url
901 CRSS, FATA Tribes: Finally Out of Colonial Clutches? Past, Present and Future, 12 July 2018, url, p. 17
902 Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Final Results Census-2017 – District Tables FATA, 19 May 2021, url
903 For the 2020 data Cedoca noticed a discrepancy in the FRC report. On p. 3 there is written in the graph: South
Waziristan 38 incidents, further down in the report the data differ (South Waziristan 39 incidents). Cedoca chose to follow
the data on p. 3. FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 3
904 FRC, KPTD Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 12
905 FRC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal Districts Annual Security Report 2020, 7 January 2021, url, p. 12
906 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 44
907 Khan Mahsud, M., email, 6 August 2020 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of FRC
908 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
909 RFE/RL, Locals Blame ‘Surrendered Taliban’ For Waziristan Murder, 24 July 2018, url
910 Kanwal Sheikh, M., New conflict lines in Pakistan’s tribal areas, 6 July 2018, url
911 Kanwal Sheikh, M., New conflict lines in Pakistan’s tribal areas, 6 July 2018, url

90Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

the police through pamphlets to leave South Waziristan.912 At the end of May 2019, Section 144 was
imposed for a month in South Waziristan due to a clash between PTM and the army on 26 May 2019
in North Waziristan.913 In August 2020, Journalist Ihsanullah Tipu Mahsud mentioned that‘surrendered’ Taliban returning under government amnesty scheme are causing an increase of
attacks in North Waziristan and South Waziristan.914 After several attacks claimed by the TTP in
February 2021 the security forces installed a curfew in Wana for four days.915
The TTP claimed responsibility for several attacks during 2020 and the first half of 2021 in South
Waziristan.916 In February 2020, Dawn reported that attacks have taken place on security forces in
the areas of Ahmadzai Wazir and Mehsud tribes of South Waziristan.917 In August 2020, in a suicide
attack on a military vehicle in Ladha, wounded three soldiers.918 At the end of June 2021, militants
attacked a FC check post in Tiarza that resulted in a clash whereby three FC soldiers were killed andthree others wounded.919 In addition, security forces carried out IBO’s in South Waziristan. In
February 2021, security forces killed a TTP commander in Tiarza.920 In April 2021, an active memberof the TTP was killed during an IBO in Ladha.921

2.2.3 Balochistan
General description of the province
Balochistan (see Map 1) is located in the west of Pakistan. It borders Iran in the west, Afghanistan in
the north-west, KP province in the north-east, Punjab province in the east, Sindh province in thesouth-east, and the Arabian Sea in the south.922 Quetta is the provincial capital.923 Balochistan
consists of 7 divisions and 33 districts.924 Regardless of various development initiatives, Balochistan
remains the poorest province of Pakistan.925
The majority of the people are Baloch, and the second largest group are Pashtun who dominate thenorthern areas in the province.926 In addition, approximately more than half a million Hazaras areliving in Quetta.927 Balochistan is the least populated province of Pakistan but the largest province byarea.928 According to the population census 2017 published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, theprovince of Balochistan has a population of 12 335 129.929 According to UNDP, more than 70 % of
the population is living in rural areas.930

912 Dawn, Pamphlet warns police to leave S. Waziristan in three days, 23 April 2019, url
913 Dawn, Section 144 imposed in South Waziristan for 'public safety', 28 May 2019, url
914 Arab News, Double-edged sword of 'surrendered' Taliban in Waziristan, 3 August 2020, url
915 Gandhara, South Waziristan Bazaar Under Lockdown After Attack On Security Forces, 17 February 2021, url
916 Dawn, Five soldiers martyred in South Waziristan attack, 20 February 2021, url; TNN, Terrorist commander killed inSouth Waziristan, 26 February 2021, url
917 Dawn, Five soldiers martyred in South Waziristan attack, 20 February 2021, url
918 Arab News, Taliban bomber hits army vehicle in Pakistan's northwest, wounding 3, 12 August 2020, url
919 Gandhara, Three Pakistani Paramilitary Troops Killed in Militant Attack, 30 June 2021, url
920 TNN, Terrorist commander killed in South Waziristan, 26 February 2021, url
921 TNN, TTP terrorist killed in South Waziristan IBO, 13 April 2021, url
922 UNOCHA, Pakistan-Overview map [map], 3 December 2018, url
923 UNOCHA, Pakistan-Overview map [map], 3 December 2018, url
924 Samaa TV, 6 surprises from Pakistan’s 2017 census that should worry govt, 12 June 2021, url
925 Deutsche Welle, Can Pakistan secure Chinese investment in restive Balochistan province?, 14 July 2021, url
926 Diplomat (The), Fear and Loathing in Balochistan, 25 April 2019, url; Diplomat (The), Pakistan’s Balochs Fear Minority
Status in Their Own Province, 11 February 2016, url
927 BBC News, Pakistan Hazara minority protests after bombing in Quetta, 13 April 2019, url
928 UNICEF, Report of Profiles of Slums/Underserved Areas of Quetta City of Balochistan, Pakistan (July 2020), 27 July 2020,
url, p. 3
929 Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Final Results Census-2017-National, 19 May 2021, url
930 UNDP Pakistan, Devolution of Power: Pathways to Actualization, 23 January 2021, url, p. 5

91

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Background of the conflict and actors in Balochistan
Balochistan encounters various problems such as sectarian violence, Islamist militant attacks and aseparatist insurgency.931 These conflicts are further complicated by the involvement of several
foreign states, such as the US, China, India and Iran with an economic or political stake within
Balochistan.932
The separatist insurgency has been going on in Balochistan since 1948.933 Different nationalist
groups have complained about the unfair distribution of royalties from the exploitation of naturalminerals in the province.934 The conflict intensified in 2005 and escalated further in August 2006
with the death of Nationalist Leader and Tribal Head Nawab Akbar Bugti. The government ofPakistan reacted with a military operation. The building of military cantonments in Balochistan andthe development of Gwadar port by China also became reasons for conflict.935
In April 2019, Gandhara noticed: ‘Independent observers and Baluch nationalists say an extensive
crackdown by Pakistani security forces relying on anti-nationalist militias, enforced disappearances,and other harsh tactics has weakened the insurgency’, especially in the Makran area.936 According toKiyya Baloch, a journalist from Balochistan’s Makran region most of the attacks occur in the remoteregions of the province.937 Still, the Baloch armed groups were able to carry out a series of violent
attacks on Chinese interests in the region in 2019. This is largely due to a transformation of the
Baloch armed groups caused by a change in traditional leadership and urbanisation of theiroperations from small towns to cities outside the province.938 According to Muhammad Amir Rana, asecurity analyst, due to the growth of the middle class and higher literacy rate in central andsouthern Balochistan ‘a new cadre of young nationalists also emerged.’ Rana stated that they
gradually took over control of the insurgency in their region.939 The insurgency has largely shifted tothe south-west of Balochistan.940 In June 2020, clashes between the Pakistani military and Baloch
insurgents aggravated due to an increase of attacks perpetrated by Baloch groups.941 ACLED statedthat ‘The resurgence of Baloch separatist violence was preceded by greater unity among Balochseparatist groups, including the formation of trans-province alliances between separatist groups, aswell as repression of Baloch civilians by the Pakistani army during security operations.’942 In June
2020, the Pakistan military carried out a military operation - Ground Zero Clearance Operation aimed at destroying the bases of Baloch militant groups in the border regions with Iran.943 In July
2021, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that he is willing to talk with the Baloch insurgent
groups.944 An issue that has continuously fuelled the insurgency in Balochistan are the enforced

931 Amir Rana, M., Militant Landscape of Balochistan, 19 June 2020, url, p. 1
932 Middle East Institute (Kowalski, P.), Balochistan: From the periphery to the center of attention, 21 October 2019, url
933 Hashmi, W., ‘Fierce and Warlike’: Could the Baloch Separatist Movement Remain Pakistan’s Longest Insurgency?, 21

August 2018, url
934 Deutsche Welle, China consulate attack: Why Pakistan's Baloch separatists are against Beijing, 23 November 2018, url
935 Aamir, A., The Balochistan Insurgency and the Threat to Chinese Interests in Pakistan, 15 February 2019, url
936 Gandhara, Balochistan’s Separatist Insurgency On The Wane Despite Recent Attack, 18 April 2019, url
937 Gandhara, Balochistan’s Separatist Insurgency On The Wane Despite Recent Attack, 18 April 2019, url
938 Prism, Eight months in, how is Balochistan faring?, 16 August 2019, url
939 Amir Rana, M., Militant Landscape of Balochistan, 19 June 2020, url, p. 1
940 Amir Rana, M., Militant Landscape of Balochistan, 19 June 2020, url, p. 2
941 Diplomat (The), Amid a Pandemic, Pakistan Focuses on a Baloch Insurgency, 26 June 2020, url
942 ACLED, Ten conflicts to worry about in 2021, February 2021, url, p. 8
943 Arab News Pakistan, 'Ground zero' operation underway against militant hideouts near Pakistan’s border with Iran, 6June 2020, url
944 Diplomat (The), Is Pakistan Serious About Peace Talks in Balochistan?, 16 July 2021, url

92

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

disappearances and extrajudicial killings.945 In February 2021, Baloch groups staged demonstrations
across Pakistan accusing the government of enforced disappearances and violence.946
An additional factor adding to the Baloch insurgency is the international involvement in Pakistan’s
efforts to build the Gwadar Port in collaboration with China.947 The Baloch insurgent groups haverejected the Chinese involvement in Balochistan. They interpret the Chinese involvement and their
Gwadar port and other CPEC-related projects as an attempt by the state to exploit Balochistan’s
resources while receiving little in return.948 The Chinese projects and Chinese workers are regularly
the target of Baloch insurgents.949 In January 2021, Gandhara stated that Pakistan increased security
measures in the region to protect the CPEC-related projects.950
Sources noted a rise in religious-nationalist militancy in 2021.951 According to PIPS annual security
situation report of 2020 the TPP, IS and some other similar unknown militants were able to carry out
attacks in the province.952 Analysts, cited in a May 2021 article by Gandhara, suggested that with theattack on the Serena hotel in Quetta in April 2021 that the TTP ‘has joined the local fight against
Chinese interests.’953 Sectarian violence is also still present in Balochistan.954 Members of the local
Shia community, mostly members of the Hazara community in Quetta, have fallen victim of violent
attacks, targeted killings and suicide attacks.955
Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
Security incidents
During 2020, there were 138 security incidents recorded by ACLED in Balochistan province, of which
52 were coded as battles, 44 explosions/remote violence and 42 incidents of violence against
civilians. Kech stood out as the district where most incidents were reported with 34 violent events,
followed by Panjgur with 14 violent events and Quetta with also 12 violent events.956
PIPS documented 65 incidents of various types of violence in the province in 2020: 42 ‘terrorist
attacks’, 15 anti-militant operational attacks by security forces, 3 clashes/encounters between
security forces and militants, two incidents of armed clashes between security forces and protestors,
and two foiled terror bids, among others.957 PICSS observed 49 militant attacks in 2020. The numberof militant attacks almost declined by 25 % compared to 2019.958

945 AI, Pakistan: The disappeared of Balochistan, 12 November 2020,

url; AI, Pakistan: Enduring Enforced Disappearances, 27 March 2019, url; Gandhara, Educated Youth Still Turn To Separatist
Violence In Restive Pakistani Province, 14 May 2020, url
946 Reuters, Baloch protesters end sit-in after Pakistani prime minister's pledge to meet them, 22 February 2021, url; Al
Jazeera, Ending Pakistan’s epidemic of enforced disappearances, 9 March 2021, url
947 Dawn, The geoeconomics of CPEC, 7 April 2019, url
948 Deutsche Welle, Can Pakistan secure Chinese investment in restive Balochistan province?, 14 July 2021, url; Deutsche
Welle, Why Chinese investment is stoking anger in Pakistan's Balochistan province, 15 July 2020, url
949 Deutsche Welle, Can Pakistan secure Chinese investment in restive Balochistan province?, 14 July 2021, url
950 Gandhara, Locals Fear Investors In Chinese Trade Hub Are Pushing Them Out Of Gwadar, 26 January 2021, url
951 International News (The), Denying safe havens, 6 July 2021, url; Asia Times, Pakistan Taliban on a renewed warpath inBalochistan, 5 June 2021, url
952 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 55
953 Gandhara, The Rise Of The New Pakistani Taliban, 18 May 2021, url
954 Asia Times, Pakistan Taliban on a renewed warpath in Balochistan, 5 June 2021, url
955 Guardian (The), 'Every year we dig mass graves': the slaughter of Pakistan’s Hazara, 5 April 2021, url
956 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;
Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2020-31 December 2020), update
3 September 2021, url
957 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 52
958 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 30

93

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

From 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2021, ACLED coded 203 violent events in Balochistan province. 81 ofwhich were coded as battles, 84 as explosions/remote violence and 38 as violence against
civilians.959 In this timeframe in the district of Kech most violent incidents were counted (62),followed by Quetta (28) and Awaran (20).960
From 1 January to 31 July 2021, PIPS counted 51 incidents of which 40 were recorded as ‘terrorist
attacks’ in Balochistan.961 PICSS mentioned 65 incidents of overall violence and 52 out of theseincidents were marked as militant attacks.962
Security trends 2020-2021
PIPS differentiated the ‘terrorist attacks’ in 2020 between attacks carried out by religiously inspired
groups (10 attacks) and Baloch insurgents’ groups (32 attacks).963
In 2020, religiously inspired groups such as the TTP and IS were active in the province of Balochistan.
According to PIPS, the majority of the attacks by these groups were carried out in areas with larger
Pashtun populations.964 The attacks in 2020 were directed against security force personnel, worshipplaces, tribal elders, civilians and a rally of a religious organization.965 In May 2021, Pakistani security
force personnel carried out an operation in Killi Aghbarg, at the outskirts of Quetta. Four militants,
including a key commander of the TTP, were killed during the operation.966
Illustrative incidents 2020 and in the first seven months of 2021:
•
•
•
•
•
•

On 10 January 2020, a suicide bombing inside a mosque killed at least 15 people in Quetta.
TRT World, citing the SITE intelligence group, stated that IS claimed the attack.967
On 17 February 2020, a suicide bombing occurred in Quetta. The target was a Sunni
extremist religious rally. At least 8 people, including three police officers and four civilians,
were killed and another 16 people were injured.968
On 19 May 2020, six FC soldiers were killed in Pir Ghaib, Mach district due to an IED attack.
The United Baloch Army claimed responsibility.969
On 14 July 2020, militants fired on a patrolling party of security personnel near Gichak valleyof Panjgur. Three soldiers were killed and eight others wounded.970
On 10 August 2020, at least six people were killed and 21 others, including three soldiers of
the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), injured in a bomb blast in the border town of Chaman.971
On 15 October 2020, unidentified gunmen killed at least 14 people after ambushing a
convoy of vehicles near Ormara. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack,959 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;

Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021), update 3
September 2021, url
960 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied: Pakistan;
Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021), update 3
September 2021, url
961 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
962 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
963 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 51
964 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 55
965 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 55
966 Dawn, TTP commander, 3 other terrorists killed in Quetta: CTD, 27 May 2021, url
967 TRT World, Suicide bombing in Pakistan mosque kills at least 15 worshippers, 10 January 2020, url
968 Gandhara, Suicide Bomber Kills Eight, Wounds 16 At Radical Sunni Islamist Rally In Pakistan, 17 February 2020, url
969 Dawn, Seven troops martyred in two attacks in Balochistan, 20 May 2020, url
970 Dawn, 3 soldiers martyred in firing by terrorists in Balochistan's Panjgur: ISPR, 14 July 2020, url
971 Gandhara, Bomb Kills Five In Troubled Pakistani Border Town, 10 August 2020, url

94Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation••

but the incident was similar to previous assaults by armed ethnic Baloch separatist groups
on convoys.972
In January 2021, IS claimed responsibility for the killing of 11 coal miners in the district ofMach. All victims were members of the Hazara community.973 In April 2021, the TTP claimed
responsibility for a bomb attack at the Serena hotel in Quetta, apparently targeting police
personnel and other officials.974 The diplomat stated that this attack has been a sign that the
TTP regained his operational strength and is active in Balochistan.975 Some analysts
suggested that the TTP is working together with Baloch nationalist insurgents’ groups andincreased their anti-China rhetoric.976
In March 2021, the TTP claimed a bomb blast in Chaman, targeting a senior police officer.
Three people were killed and thirteen others injured.977

PIPS stated that Baloch nationalist militants carried out 32 ‘terrorist attacks’ in the province in 2020,
compared to 51 in 2019.978 According to PIPS, most of the attacks were carried out in the districts ofKech, Quetta and Mastung.979 Their tactics included IEDs blasts, incidents of firing or targeted killing,and hand grenade attacks.980 Main targets of the Baloch insurgents’ groups were security forces andlaw enforcement personnel.981
During the first half of 2021, Baloch militant groups continued targeting security forces in theprovince. In June 2021, at least eight people were killed and 15 injured in two separate attacks on
security forces in Quetta and Turbat. The BLA claimed responsibility for the attack in Turbat.982 On 26
June 2021, BLA claimed that the group has set fire on the installations of telecommunicationcompanies near Quetta and have taken six staff members in custody.983
Casualties
PIPS reported that 95 people were killed and 216 injured in 2020 in 42 ‘terrorist attacks’.984
According to PIPS, among the reported 42 ‘terrorist attacks’ in Balochistan most casualties fell within
the security forces and civilians.985 PIPS documented that in 2020 the capital, Quetta, lost the highest
number of lives due to violence. Other districts that suffered high casualties from violence wereKech, Gwadar, Qilla Abdullah, Harnai and Bolan.986 PICSS noted a decline in militant attacks andcasualties in 2020 compared to 2019 in Balochistan.987
In 2020, CRSS recorded in total 309 casualties in the province (see Figure 8). According to CRSS, mostcasualties in 2020 were counted among civilians.988 The lowest number of casualties due to violencein the province were militants.989

972 Al Jazeera, Convoy attack kills 14 in southwestern Pakistan, 15 October 2020, url
973 BBC News, Pakistan coal miners kidnapped and killed in IS attack, 3 January 2021, url
974 BBC News, Pakistan hotel bomb: Deadly blast hits luxury venue in Quetta, 22 April 2021, url
975 The Diplomat, What Is the Significance of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s Latest Attack in Quetta?, 22 April 2021, url
976 Gandhara, The Rise Of The New Pakistani Taliban, 18 May 2021, url
977 Gandhara, Deadly Blast At Pakistani Border Town Near Afghanistan, 23 May 2021, url
978 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 53
979 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 53
980 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 53
981 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 53
982 Al Jazeera, Several killed in two attacks in Pakistan’s southwest, 1 June 2021, url
983 WION, BLA says it set on fire Chinese telecommunication companies, captured 6 workers in Pakistan's Balochistan, 4July 2021, url
984 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 51
985 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 52-53
986 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 51-52
987 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 30
988 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 21
989 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 21

95

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

In the first half of 2021, CRSS counted in total 226 casualties (see Figure 8). In the second quarter of2021, fatalities and injured (74 fatalities, 89 injured) increased in the province compared to the firstquarter of 2021 (48 fatalities, 15 injured).990
Casualties in the province of Balochistan
2020

01/01/2021-30/06/2021

Fatalities

Injuries

Total

Fatalities

Injuries

Total

138

171

309

122

104

226

Figure 8. Casualties in the province of Balochistan, 2020 and the first half of 2021, based on CRSS data991

Displacement
Among the consulted sources, no information was found about any conflict-induced displacementfrom areas in and to Balochistan in 2020 and the first seven months of 2021.992

990 CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
991 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 21; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April

2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
992 Websites consulted: http://www.unocha.org/pakistan;
https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/pakistan; http://reliefweb.int/country/pak

96

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

2.2.4 Sindh
General description of the province
The province of Sindh (see Map 1) is situated in the south-east of Pakistan. It borders the provinceof Balochistan in the north and in the west, the province of Punjab in the north-east and the Arabian
Sea in the south.993 The province of Sindh consists of seven divisions and 29 districts.994 Karachi is theprovincial capital. Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan with approximately 15 to 25 million people
residing.995 The two largest ethnic communities living in Sindh are the Sindhis and Mohajirs.996
According to the population census 2017 published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the provinceof Sindh has a population of 47 854 510.997 According to UNDP, about 52 % of the population is living
in urban areas.998
Background of the conflict and actors in Sindh
Since 5 September 2013, a security operation is ongoing in Sindh, mainly focusing on the capital
Karachi. According to the 2018 security report PIPS, the purpose of this operation is to tackle four
categories of violent groups involved in violence in the city: the Pakistani Taliban, sectarian armed
groups, armed wings of ethno-political parties and criminal gangs.999 The Rangers have been given‘special powers’ to tackle the variety of violence, not just ethno-political, but also sectarian violenceand extortion.1000
In the first half of 2019, multiple security agencies in Sindh warned of attacks on foreign consulates,
foreign engineers working for CPEC, security forces, sensitive areas such as airports, political andreligious leaders and places of worship of minorities. More than half of the attacks were planned by
the TTP, according to the Sindh police.1001 In the past, rural Sindh especially has emerged as ‘a new
hotbed of militancy’, where several militant groups, particularly the TTP and the LeJ, have become
active through their support and use of a local militant group led by Hafeez Brohi.1002 In March 2019,the newspaper Dawn reported that Hafeez Brohi was killed by the police during a cross-borderaction in the Dadhar area of Balochistan.1003
In May 2020, the government banned the JSQM-A, the SDRA and SDLA.1004 Sources indicated an
important development in 2020, i.e. the reported alliance between Baloch and Sindhi separatist
militant groups.1005 On 25 July 2020, BRAS announced an operational alliance with the SDRA.1006 The
Sindhi nationalists groups have also developed a connection with the BLA which is providing training
to their militants in return of logistical support for its operations in Karachi.1007 In July 2020, The

993 Minority Rights Group, Sindhis and Mohajirs, June 2018, url
994 Samaa TV, 6 surprises from Pakistan’s 2017 census that should worry govt, 12 June 2021, url
995 Express Tribune (The), Pakistan fails to reap demographic dividend, 11 July 2021, url
996 Minority Rights Group, Sindhis and Mohajirs, June 2018, url
997 Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Final Results Census-2017-National, 19 May 2021, url
998 UNDP Pakistan, Devolution of Power: Pathways to Actualization, 23 January 2021, url, p. 5
999 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2018, 6 January 2019, url, pp. 125-126
1000 Fazli, S., EASO, EASO COI Meeting Report: Pakistan; 16-17 October 2017; Rome, February 2018, url, p. 93
1001 Express Tribune (The), Police foil 105 terrorist attacks, 7 July 2019, url
1002 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2018, 6 January 2019, url, pp. 129-130
1003 Dawn, ‘Mastermind of several major terror attacks killed in encounter’, 1 March 2019, url
1004 Dawn, JSQM-A, two separatist outfits in Sindh banned, 12 May 2020, url
1005 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021 url, p. 35; Amir Rana, M., Missing political approaches, 12 July

2020, url; Arab News, Sindhi, Baloch ‘separatists’ forming ties in Sindh, Pakistani officials say, 13 July 2020, url
1006 Nabeel, F., Interpreting BRAS-SRA Alliance, 27 July 2020, url
1007 Amir Rana, M., Missing political approaches, 12 July 2020, url; Arab News, Sindhi, Baloch ‘separatists’ forming ties in
Sindh, Pakistani officials say, 13 July 2020, url

97Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

News on Sunday stated that a new militant group, the Mohajir Freedom Fighters (MFF) emerged.1008
Abdul Basit, a security analyst, stated that ‘the attacks have geopolitical underpinnings and should
be seen in the context of India-China border dispute and the intra-Afghan peace process.’1009
Criminal activities also pose a security challenge for law enforcement personnel in Sindh.1010 Criminal
gangs have their hideouts in the northern districts of the province.1011 In its annual report of 2020,
HRCP stated that incidents of crime and cases of missing persons increased in 2020 in Sindh
province.1012
Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
Security incidents
During 2020, there were 52 security incidents recorded by ACLED in Sindh province, of whom 18
were coded as battles, 11 explosions/remote violence and 23 incidents of violence against civilians.
Karachi stood out as the district where most incidents were reported with 30 violent events,
followed by Khairpur, Matiari and Naushahro Feroze with 3 violent events each.1013
PIPS documented 18 ‘terrorist attacks’ in 2020.1014 Fifteen of these attacks took place in Karachi andthree in interior Sindh. This is a slight increase compared to 2019 when 14 ‘terrorist attacks’occurred. Among those attacks, there were both sectarian-related and nationalist-inspired
attacks.1015 PICSS observed 18 militant attacks in 2020. The number of militant attacks increased
compared to 2019.1016
From 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2021, ACLED coded 37 violent events in Sindh province, 19 of whichwere coded as battles, 8 as explosions/remote violence and 10 as violence against civilians.1017 In thistimeframe most security incidents were counted in Karachi (9), Larkana (5) and Khairpur (4).1018
From 1 January to 31 July 2021, PIPS counted 10 incidents of which 5 were recorded as ‘terrorist
attacks’ in Sindh.1019 PICSS mentioned 47 incidents of overall violence and 8 out of these incidents
were marked as militant attacks.1020
Security trends 2020-2021

1008 News on Sunday (The), A new wave of terror, 5 July 2020, url
1009 News on Sunday (The), A new wave of terror, 5 July 2020, url
1010 Dawn, Karachi street crime, 2 June 2021, url; Dawn, Street crimes register alarming rise in Karachi in Jan-March period,

19 April 2021, url
1011 Dawn, Police achieved little success in long fight against gangs in Sindh's riverine areas: report, 21 September 2021, url
1012 HRCP, State of Human Rights in 2020, 3 May 2021, url, pp. 56-58
1013 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied:
Pakistan; Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2020-31 December2020), update 30 July 2021, url
1014 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 52
1015 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 56
1016 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 40
1017 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied:
Pakistan; Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021),
update 3 September 2021, url
1018 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied:
Pakistan; Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021),
update 3 September 2021, url
1019 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
1020 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS

98

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

PIPS differentiated the ‘terrorist attacks’ in 2020 between attacks carried out by religious inspired
groups and nationalist insurgent groups.1021 Most of the attacks were carried out in Karachi and inInterior Sindh.1022
In 2020, ‘religiously inspired groups’ including the TTP were active in the province of Sindh. These
groups carried out four attacks in Karachi. Three attacks were targeted killings directed against
police officers and one attack was directed against civilians. 1023 A March 2021 article of Samaa TV,
citing a senior police official, stated that the TTP has a presence in Karachi. He claimed further that
the TTP had ‘sleeper cells’ in the province.1024 Different media reported that the police and Rangers
have arrested or killed several suspected TTP militants in Karachi, Sukkur and other parts of Sindh inthe first half of 2021.1025
In addition, nationalist insurgent groups were active in Karachi and Interior Sindh. Most of these
attacks were claimed by the SDRA.1026 The attacks were directed against the police and Rangers,
civilians, the rally of a religious-political party and a Chinese national.1027 PIPS reported that also
three sectarian-related attacks and incidents of ethno-political violence occurred in the province ofSindh.1028
In June 2021, Dawn cited a senior police officer who stated that ‘the violence allegedly perpetrated
by the so-called nationalist groups has recently overtaken the violence committed by religious andsectarian outfits in Sindh.’1029
Illustrative incidents 2020 and in the first seven months of 2021:
•
•
•
•
•
•

On 1 April 2020, a religious scholar was shot in a suspected sectarian attack in Orangi
Town.1030
On 29 June 2020, four militants of the BLA attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)
building in Karachi. At least three security guards and a police sub-inspector were killed,
while seven people were injured during the attack. The four militants were also killed.1031
On 5 August 2020, at least 39 people were injured in a grenade attack on a Jamaat-i-Islami
rally held in Karachi. The SDRA claimed responsibility.1032
On 10 October 2020, a religious scholar and his driver were killed in a targeted attack.1033
On 15 March 2021, Reuters reported that BLA claimed responsibility for an attack in Karachi,
killing a paramilitary soldier and wounding eight other people.1034
On 28 July 2021, a Chinese national was attacked in Karachi by unknown gunmen. According
to Reuters, no one claimed responsibility.1035

Casualties

1021 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 56
1022 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 56-58
1023 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 58
1024 Samaa TV, Is TTP staging a comeback in Pakistan?, 17 March 2021, url
1025 Samaa TV, Is TTP staging a comeback in Pakistan?, 17 March 2021, url; Dawn, Three members of ‘TTP sleeper cell’ heldin SITE, 3 May 2021, url; Dawn, ‘TTP militant’ involved in terror cases arrested in Karachi, 12 March 2021, url
1026 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, pp. 57-58
1027 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 58
1028 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021 url, p. 58, p. 59
1029 Dawn, Nationalists’ violence has overtaken religious militancy, says CTD chief, 4 June 2021, url
1030 Dawn, Religious scholar shot at, wounded in ‘sectarian’ attack in Karachi, 1 April 2021, url
1031 BBC News, Pakistan attack: Deadly raid on stock exchange in Karachi, 29 June 2020, url
1032 Al Jazeera, Dozens wounded in grenade attack at pro-Kashmir Karachi rally, 5 August 2020, url
1033 Dawn, Jamia Farooqia head Maulana Adil, driver shot dead in Karachi, 10 October 2020, url
1034 Reuters, Blast in Pakistan's Karachi kills soldier, injures 8 others, 15 March 2021, url
1035 Reuters, Chinese national shot and wounded in Pakistan's Karachi, 28 July 2021, url

99Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

According to PIPS, in 18 ‘terrorist attacks’ a total of 20 people were killed and 66 injured in theprovince in 2020.1036 PICSS counted 93 casualties (23 killed and 70 injured).1037
In 2020, CRSS recorded in total 180 casualties in the province (see Figure ).1038 According to CRSS,
most casualties in 2020 were counted among civilians.1039 More than 55 % of all victims of violence
were civilians. They belonged to the groups of media, political and religious party activists, andreligious persons.1040 CRSS stated that the least affected from violence in Sindh were security
personnel.1041
In the first half of 2021, CRSS counted in total 89 casualties (see Figure ).1042 In the second quarter of2021, casualties (56) increased in the province when compared to the first quarter of 2021 (33).1043
Casualties in the province of Sindh
2020

01/01/2021-30/06/2021

Fatalities

Injuries

Total

Fatalities

Injuries

Total

92

88

180

65

24

89

Figure 19. Casualties in the province of Sindh, 2020 and the first half of 2021, based on CRSS data1044

Displacement
Among the consulted sources, no information was found about any conflict-induced displacementfrom areas in and to Sindh in 2020 and the first seven months of 2021.1045

2.2.5 Islamabad Capital Territory
General description of the territory
Islamabad Capital Territory (see Map 1) is situated in the north of Pakistan between the provinces
of KP and Punjab and includes the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad. The administrative status ofIslamabad Capital Territory is not very clear. The territory of the Islamabad Capital Territory is notdemarcated and separated from adjoining areas.1046 The total area of Islamabad Capital Territory isaround 900 square kilometres.1047 Islamabad is an ethnically diverse city. It has an ‘eclectic mix of
Punjabi, Pakhtun, Seriaki, Sindhi, Kashmiri and Baloch ethnicities’. Islamabad has a relatively big
proportion of religious minorities compared to other parts of the country, with 10 % of the1036 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 65
1037 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, p. 40
1038 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, pp. 27-28
1039 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 27
1040 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 27
1041 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 27
1042 CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
1043 CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
1044 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 27; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April

2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
1045 Websites consulted: url; url; url
1046 International News (The), Islamabad: the deprived capital, 30 June 2019, url
1047 UNDP Pakistan, Devolution of Power: Pathways to Actualization, 23 January 2021, url, p. 5

100

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

inhabitants being non-Muslims.1048 There are 3 000 Hindus living in the capital.1049 Islamabad Capital
Territory hosts Islamabad International Airport, served by international and domestic scheduled
passenger flights.1050 According to the population census of 2017 published by the Pakistan Bureauof Statistics, Islamabad Capital Territory has a population of 2 003 368.1051 According to UNDP, halfof the population is living in urban areas.1052
Background of the conflict and actors in Islamabad Capital Territory
According to a report by Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) published on 17 April 2020, thecapital remains an attractive target due to the prevalence of government institutions, foreign
missions, and administration officials.1053 The capital Islamabad was also the scene of protests in2020 and 2021.1054
Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
Security incidents
ACLED collected data on two violent events in Islamabad Capital territory from reports in open
sources in the year 2020, one of which was coded as battles, none as explosions/remote violenceand one as violence against civilians.1055 In 2020, PIPS recorded not a single ‘terrorist attack’ inIslamabad Capital Territory.1056 PICSS documented one security incident in which two people were
killed.1057
From 1 January to 31 July 2021, ACLED coded seven violent events in Islamabad Capital Territory, of
which two were coded as battles and five as violence against civilians.1058 In the first seven monthsof 2021, PIPS observed three violent incidents in the province of which two were labelled as‘terrorist attacks’.1059 PICSS counted three incidents of violence in the same timeframe.1060
Security trends 2020-2021
According to the Minister of Interior, cited in a June 2021 article of Anadolu Agency (AA), attacks
perpetrated by militants were increasing in the capital. Since 2018, nine police officers were killed in
the capital.1061
Illustrative incidents 2020 and in the first seven months of 2021:•

On 27 February 2021, RFE/RL Gandhara reported that a religious cleric, his son and a
student were killed at the outskirts of Islamabad by unknown gunmen.1062

1048 Friday Times (The), Battleground Islamabad, 22 June 2018, url
1049 Al Jazeera, Pakistan’s top Islamic body approves construction of Hindu temple, 29 October 2020, url
1050 Gulf News, First pictures: New Islamabad airport opens, to handle up to 25m flyers a year, 1 May 2018, url
1051 Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Final Results Census-2017-National, 19 May 2021, url
1052 UNDP Pakistan, Devolution of Power: Pathways to Actualization, 23 January 2021, url, p. 51053 OSAC, Pakistan 2020 Crime & Safety Report: Islamabad, 17 April 2020, url
1054 Express Tribune (The), Islamabad sit-in on cards as opposition mulls ‘massive’ anti-govt movement, 19 September

2020, url; Dawn, Baloch protesters end Islamabad sit-in after PM Imran's pledge to meet them, 22 February 2021, url
1055 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied:
Pakistan; Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2020-31 December2020), update 3 September 2021, url
1056 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 211057 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url, pp. 41-42
1058 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied:
Pakistan; Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021),
update 3 September 2021, url
1059 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
1060 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
1061 AA, 2 police officers killed in Islamabad 'terror attack', 4 June 2021, url
1062 Gandhara, Three Killed In Shooting In Pakistani Capital, Including Cleric, 28 February 2021, url

101

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation•

On 3 June 2021, two police officers were killed in the capital. The attack was claimed by
the TTP.1063

Casualties
In 2020, the CRSS annual security report recorded 13 casualties (10 fatalities, 3 injured) fromviolence in Islamabad Capital Territory (see Figure 9).1064 Among the fatalities were five civilians, one
government official and two security personnel.1065
In the first half of 2021, CRSS counted in total 14 casualties (see Figure 9).1066 In the second quarterof 2021, casualties (10) increased in the province when compared to the first quarter of 2021 (4).1067
Casualties in Islamabad Capital Territory
2020

01/01/2021-30/06/2021

Fatalities

Injuries

Total

Fatalities

Injuries

Total

10

3

13

6

8

14

Figure 9. Casualties in Islamabad Capital Territory, 2020 and the first half of 2021, based on CRSS data1068

Displacement
Among the consulted sources, no information was found about any conflict-induced displacementfrom areas in and to Islamabad Capital territory in 2020 and the first seven months of 2021.1069

2.2.6 Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan
General description of the region
The Pakistan-controlled territory of Kashmir consists of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK or commonly
called Azad Kashmir, AK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) (see Map 1). On 4 August 2020, the Prime
Minister of Pakistan revealed a new political map of the area that included Pakistan’s national
borders whilst including the whole of Kashmir, which confirms the political claim to the territory.1070
In September 2020, Ali Amin Gandapur, Minister of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan in thegovernment of Prime Minister Imran Khan, announced that the GB region ‘would soon’ become a1063 AA, 2 police officers killed in Islamabad 'terror attack', 4 June 2021, url
1064 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 41065 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 281066 CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
1067 CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
1068 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 28; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April

2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
1069 IDMC, GRID 2021 Global Report on Internal Displacement, May 2021, url; Websites consulted:
http://www.unocha.org/pakistan; https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/pakistan;
http://reliefweb.int/country/pak
1070 Dawn, In landmark move, PM Imran unveils 'new political map' of Pakistan, 4 August 2020, url; Dawn, Pakistan affirms
claim to IHK with new map, 5 August 2020, url

102Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

province of Pakistan.1071 In November 2020, Prime Minister Khan announced that GB would get thestatus of a provisional province.1072
AK has an estimated population of about 3-4.5 million.1073 Elections for the legislative assembly in AK
were scheduled on 25 July 2021.1074 The majority in AJK are Muslims.1075 GB has an estimatedpopulation of about two million people.1076 The demography of GB consists of around 40 % Shia.1077
GB is governed by a legislative assembly but has few legal powers and the region remains largely
governed directly by the federal government.1078 On 15 November 2020, elections were held in GB
for the assembly.1079
Background of the conflict and actors in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan
The territory of Kashmir is a disputed area divided between India, Pakistan and China but claimed inits entirety by Pakistan and India.1080 The Pakistan-India relationship has been historically tense for
decades.1081 The Line of Control (LoC) is approximately a 724 km long border separating Indiaadministered Kashmir from Pakistan-administered Kashmir, managed by their respective armies oneach side.1082 It is known as one of the most heavily militarised borders in the world.1083
India accuses Pakistan of supporting militant groups like JeM, LeT and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) andof having their operational bases in the Pakistan and Indian-administrated Kashmir region.1084 HM isa militant group operating in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It is led by Syed Salahuddin who is based inPakistan.1085 HM has conducted numerous attacks in India-administered Kashmir.1086 Also, JeM has
attacked high profile Indian targets, including the Indian parliament in New Delhi and the legislative
assembly in Indian-administered Kashmir.1087 In February 2019, the group claimed the Pulwama
attack, killing some 40 Indian soldiers.1088 A month after the Pulwama attack, in February 2019,
Pakistan started ‘a crackdown’ on groups it claims are linked to banned organisations.1089
According to the Jamestown Foundation, the wave of attacks in August 2018 in Gilgit-Baltistan
showed that the area was vulnerable to militant attacks. The article suggested further the
resurgence of the TTP in the Gilgit-Baltistan region. The wave of attacks in August 20181071 Express Tribune (The), 'G-B to be made province soon', 17 September 2020, url
1072 Al Jazeera, Pakistan PM vows to grant provisional status to Gilgit-Baltistan, 2 November 2020, url
1073 Reuters, Explainer: Scenic Kashmir at the heart of India-Pakistani animosity, 15 February 2019, url
1074 AA, Elections in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on July 25, 10 June 2021, url
1075 Reuters, Explainer: Scenic Kashmir at the heart of India-Pakistani animosity, 15 February 2019, url
1076 Al Jazeera, Pakistan PM vows to grant provisional status to Gilgit-Baltistan, 2 November 2020, url
1077 Economic Times (The), Shia majority reduced to minority in Gilgit Baltistan: Barrister Hamid Bashani, 12 November

2020, url
1078 Al Jazeera, Pakistan PM vows to grant provisional status to Gilgit-Baltistan, 2 November 2020, url
1079 AA, Pakistan: Third elections begin in Gilgit-Baltistan, 15 November 2020, url
1080 Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Redrawing the Maps in Kashmir. New Geopolitical Realities in the Conflict between
China, India, and Pakistan, November 2020, url, p. 1
1081 RFE/RL, India Blames Pakistan, Demands Action After Kashmir Attack, 15 February 2019, url; DW, Kashmir: The world's
most dangerous conflict, 7 August 2019, url
1082 CFR, Conflict Between India and Pakistan, nidi, url; Kulkarni, T., The escalation of ceasefire violations across the Line ofControl, 20 August 2020, url
1083 Kulkarni, T., The escalation of ceasefire violations across the Line of Control, 20 August 2020, url, BBC News, Viewpoint:
India and Pakistan up the ante on disputed border, 30 January 2018, url
1084 Al Jazeera, Explainer: Who are Kashmir's armed groups?, 3 March 2019, url
1085 Al Jazeera, Explainer: Who are Kashmir's armed groups?, 3 March 2019, url
1086 Al Jazeera, Explainer: Who are Kashmir's armed groups?, 3 March 2019, url
1087 Al Jazeera, Explainer: Who are Kashmir's armed groups?, 3 March 2019, url
1088 Al Jazeera, Explainer: Who are Kashmir's armed groups?, 3 March 2019, url
1089 Al Jazeera, India-Pakistan tensions: All the latest updates, 10 March 2019, url

103Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

demonstrated the group’s possibility to recruit people as well as its ability and willingness to conduct
a variety of attacks.1090
Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
Security incidents
ACLED collected data on 129 violent events in Azad Kashmir from open-source reports in the year
2020, 118 of which were coded as battles, 10 as explosions/remote violence and 1 as violenceagainst civilians.1091
PIPS did not mention any ‘terrorist attack’ in Azad Kashmir in 2020.1092 PICSS reported not a single
militant attack in 2020 and described the security situation in Azad Kashmir as ‘stable’.1093 However,the situation at the LoC remained ‘relatively more volatile’ in 2020, according to PIPS.1094 PIPS
counted 114 cross-border attacks from the border with India.1095
From 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2021, ACLED coded three violent events in Azad Kashmir; of which
one was coded as battles, one as explosions/remote violence and one as violence against
civilians.1096 These three violent incidents occurred in Bhimber, Kotli and Neelum.1097
In the first seven months of 2021, PIPS observed six overall incidents. None was classified as‘terrorist attacks’.1098 PICSS mentioned one violent incident in 2021.1099 In the same period, PIPS
recorded seven incidents of violence at the Pakistan-India border.1100
ACLED collected data on two violent events in Gilgit-Baltistan from reports in open sources in theyear 2020, of which one were coded as battles and one as violence against civilians.1101 According to
PICSS, not a single militant attack occurred in 2020 in Gilgit-Baltistan.1102 PIPS recorded also no‘terrorist attacks’ in the area in 2020.1103

1090 Zahid, F., Recent Wave of Terrorism in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan Region, 2 November 2018, url
1091 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied:

Pakistan; Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2020-31 December2020), update 3 September 2021, url
1092 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 201093 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url,, p. 411094 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 251095 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021, url, p. 251096 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied:
Pakistan; Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021),
update 3 September 2021, url
1097 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied:
Pakistan; Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021),
update 3 September 2021, url
1098 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
1099 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
1100 Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PIPS
1101 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied:
Pakistan; Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2020-31 December2020), update 3 September 2021, url
1102 PICSS, Annual Security Assessment Report 2020, 5 January 2021, url,, p. 41
1103 PIPS, Pakistan Security Report 2020, 3 January 2021 url, p. 20

104

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

From 1 January to 31 July 2021, ACLED did not mention any violent incident in Gilgit-Baltistan.1104 In
the first seven months of 2021, PIPS observed no incidents.1105 PICSS also observed no violent
incidents in 2021.1106
Security trends 2020-2021
In February 2021, it was reported that India has committed 3 097 cease-fire violations in 2020, which
killed 28 and injured 257 civilians. Pakistan reportedly committed 5 133 violations.1107 On 25
February 2021, Pakistan and India reaffirmed their commitment to the 2003 ceasefire agreement
alongside the LoC.1108 In the beginning of May 2021 both nations accused each other of violating theceasefire agreement after an exchange of fire in the Ramgarh sector.1109 At the end of June 2021,
India stated that two explosive-laden Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) crashed into the Indiancontrolled territory of Kashmir.1110
In July 2021, BBC News Urdu reported that Habib-ur-Rehman, a commander of Mujahideen GilgitBaltistan and Kohistan resurfaced in Gilgit-Baltistan. BBC News Urdu stated that on videos circulating
on social media it was shown that, Habib-ur-Rehman held an ‘open court’ in Diamer district.1111
According to VoA Urdu, the government denied the presence of Pakistani Taliban militants in GilgitBaltistan. 1112
Casualties
In 2020, CRSS documented no casualties due to violence in AJK (see Figure 10).1113 According to datain the first and second quarter analysis report of 2021 conducted by CRSS, no casualties of violence
were reported in AJK (see Figure 10).1114
Casualties in Azad Kashmir
2020

01/01/2021-30/06/2021

Fatalities

Injuries

Total

Fatalities

Injuries

Total

0

0

0

0

0

0

Figure 10. Casualties in Azad Kashmir, 2020 and the first half of 2021, based on CRSS data1115

1104 Cedoca analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, South Asia (Filters applied:

Pakistan; Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1 January 2021-31 July 2021),
update 3 September 2021, url
1105 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
1106 Khan, A. email, 8 August 2021 - data 01/01/2021-31/07/2021 courtesy of PICSS
1107 Al Jazeera, India, Pakistan agree to stop cross-border firing in Kashmir, 25 February 2021, url
1108 Al Jazeera, India, Pakistan agree to stop cross-border firing in Kashmir, 25 February 2021, url
1109 AA, Pakistan, India trade cease-fire violation accusations, 4 May 2021, url
1110 Diplomat (The), Drone Attacks on Military Installation Rattle India’s Security Establishment, 30 June 2021, url
1111 BBC News Urdu, ‫گلگت بلتستان می انتہاٹ مطلوب شدت پسند کمانڈر یک ساتھیوں سمیت ’کھیل کچہری‘ یک ویڈیو‬: ‫حبیب الرحمن‬, [informal‫ں‬translation ‘Habib-ur-Rehman: Video of 'open court' with associates of most wanted militant commander in GilgitBaltistan’], 8 July 2021, url‫[ ز‬informal translation’ Killing of1112 VoA Urdu, ‫ گلگت بلتستان اور گردو نواح می شدت پسند دوبارہ منظم ہو رہ ہی؟‬،‫ین انجینئز یک ہالکت‬
‫ے ں‬
‫ں‬
Chinese engineers, extremists reorganizing in Gilgit-Baltistan and surrounding areas’], 22 July 2021, url
1113 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 51114 CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
1115 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 28; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April
2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url

105

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

CRSS documented seven casualties due to violence in Gilgit-Baltistan in 2020 (see Figure 11).1116
According to CRSS two casualties affected civilians and five police-CTD officials.1117 In the first andsecond quarter of 2021, CRSS counted no casualties (see Figure 11).1118
Casualties in Gilgit-Baltistan
2020

01/01/2021-30/06/2021

Fatalities

Injuries

Total

Fatalities

Injuries

Total

7

0

7

0

0

0

Figure 11. Casualties in Gilgit-Baltistan, 2020 and the first half of 2021, based on CRSS data1119

Displacement
Among the consulted sources, no information was found about any conflict-induced displacementfrom areas in and to Gilgit-Baltistan in 2020 and the first seven months of 2021.1120

1116 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 41117 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 28
1118 CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April 2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
1119 CRSS, Annual Security Report 2020, 10 February 2021, url, p. 28; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q1 2021, 14 April

2021, url; CRSS, Quarterly Security Report-Q2 2021, 27 July 2021, url
1120 Websites consulted: http://www.unocha.org/pakistan;
https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/pakistan; http://reliefweb.int/country/pak106

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Annex 1: Bibliography
Oral sources, including anonymous sources
An academic expert on terrorism in South Asia, email, 22 July 2021.
Baloch, K., email, 12 July 2021. Kiyya Baloch is a freelance Pakistani journalist currently based in
Norway.
Basit, A., email, 29 July 2021. Abdul Basit is an independent Associate Research Fellow at theInternational Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) of the S. Rajaratnam
School of International Studies, Singapore. He has written extensively in reputed academic journals
such as the Perspectives on Terrorism and mainstream Pakistani English dailies on security in
Pakistan.
Khan Mahsud, M., email, 11 June 2021. Mansur Khan Mahsud is the Executive Director of FATA
Research Center (FRC).
Khan Mahsud, M., email, 6 August 2021. Mansur Khan Mahsud is the executive director of FATA
Research Center (FRC) (https://frc.org.pk/).
Khan, A., email, 8 August 2021. Abdullah Khan is the managing director of Pakistan Institute for
Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) (https://www.picss.net/).
Nabeel, F., email, 4 August 2021. Fahad Nabeel is a Pakistani independent researcher on militancy
and cybersecurity. His area of expertise covers the geopolitical issues and military trends of South
Asia.
Rana Amir, M., email, 10 August 2021. Mohammad Amir Rana is a security and political analyst anddirector of the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) (https://www.pakpips.com/).
UNOCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) Pakistan, email, 4August 2021
Public sources
AA (Anadolu Agency), 2 police officers killed in Islamabad 'terror attack', 4 June 2021,
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107

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

AA (Anadolu Agency), Pakistan’s intelligence chief visits Afghanistan’s capital, 4 September 2019,https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/pakistan-s-intelligence-chief-visits-afghanistan-scapital/2355359, accessed 15 September 2021
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AA (Anadolu Agency), Pakistan's military, intelligence chiefs visit Kabul, 9 June 2020,
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AA (Anadolu Agency), Pakistan's new naval chief takes command, 7 October 2020,
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ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project), Rising Organized Political Violence in
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ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project), Ten conflicts to worry about in 2021,
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applied: Pakistan; Event types: battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians; 1January 2021-31 July 2021), update 3 September 2021, https://acleddata.com/curated-data-files/

108

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

AI (Amnesty International), Amnesty International Report 2020/21; The State of the World's Human
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Al Jazeera, Deadly blast in Pakistan near residence of armed group founder, 23 June 2021,
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15 July 2021
Al Jazeera, Dozens wounded in grenade attack at pro-Kashmir Karachi rally, 5 August 2020,
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109

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

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Al Jazeera, Pakistan bus ‘blast’ kills at least 12, including nine Chinese, 14 July 2021,
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110

Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

Al Jazeera, Pakistani legislator Dawar surrenders to authorities, 30 May 2019,https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/pakistani-legislator-dawar-surrenders-authorities190530133447185.html, accessed 12 June 2021
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‫ی‬‫ز‬
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116

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122

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Express Tribune (The), In three years, Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad has cleansed Pakistan, 22 February
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126Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

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Annex 2: Terms of Reference
The report aims to provide information on the security situation in Pakistan, which is relevant for theassessment of international protection status determination, including refugee status and subsidiary
protection. An important goal of this report is to provide detailed information on a regional,
provincial or even district level. The reporting period for incidents and events illustrating the generaltrends of the conflict, is from 1 August 2020 until 31 July 2021. The terms of reference were draftedby Cedoca in consultation with EASO and the COI Specialist Network on Pakistan.
The content of the report should contain information on the following topics:
General description of the security situation:• Background of the conflict
Overview of recent conflicts• Actors in/Parties to the conflict• Recent security trends and security trends• Impact of the violence
Civilian population: casualties, IDPs, refugees
State ability to secure Law and Order: security forces, justice, detention
Geographical overview of the security situation

Regional description of the security situation:• Punjab• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (including former FATA and a description of the KP tribal
districts in detail)• Sindh• Balochistan• Islamabad• Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan

For each region, a short description of the region (terrain, urban areas, population) should be
included, followed by information on:• General description of the region• Background of insecurity in the region: actors, type of violence• Recent security trends (focus on 2019 and first seven months of 2020) according to thefour main sources (number of incidents, example of the kind of violence, effects of theviolence)• Displacement/return

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Annex 3: Query list
The following questions were sent by email to the following experts: an academic expert on
terrorism in South Asia, Kiyya Baloch.
1. Description of the security situation in all the provinces of Pakistan during 2020
2. Description of the security situation in all the provinces of Pakistan during the first half of 2021
3. What are the main evolutions in the security situation in 2021 compared to 2020 in Pakistan?
4. Which militant groups have been the main actors of instability in Pakistan in 2021 and can you
elaborate on the reasons why?
5. Who or what have been the main targets of militant groups in Pakistan during 2020 and 2021?
6a. The situation for journalists has reportedly deteriorated. What impact has this situation had on
media reporting on the security situation in Pakistan?
6b. Has the COVID-19 outbreak had an impact on media reporting on the security situation, andhow?
7. What measures have been adopted by the Pakistan armed forces to respond to the security
situation in 2021?
The following questions were sent by email to the following experts: Mansur Khan Mahsud, Abdul
Basit and Fahad Nabeel
1. Description of the security situation in all the tribal districts of Pakistan 2020
2. Description of the security situation in all the tribal districts of Pakistan 2021
3. What are the main evolutions in the security situation in the tribal districts in 2021 compared to2020?
4. Which militant groups have been the main actors of instability in the tribal districts in 2021 andcan you elaborate on the reasons why?
5. Who or what have been the main targets of militant groups in the tribal districts during 2020 and
2021?
6a. The situation for journalists has reportedly deteriorated. What impact has this situation had on
media reporting on the security situation in Pakistan?
6b. Has the COVID-19 outbreak had an impact on media reporting on the security situation, andhow?
7. What measures have been adopted by the Pakistan armed forces to respond to the security
situation in 2020 in the tribal districts?

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Country of Origin Information Report | Pakistan: Security situation

doi: 10.2847/798378

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