How Pakistan is seeing a rise in terror attacks since Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan

Pakistan’s list of woes just doesn’t end. The cash-strapped nation, struggling to stay afloat economically, was a victim of a deadly suicide attack on Sunday, killing more than 40 people and injuring another 200 more. The incident, which took place in Bajaur district near the Afghan border, has led to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to condemn the incident, stating that the attack’s perpetrators will face severe penalties. The attack on Sunday isn’t a lone incident. The country has seen a spate of similar bombings in the first half of this year – 271 attacks to be precise. Pakistani authorities blame neighbouring Afghanistan, ruled now by the Taliban, for these attacks, claiming the latter allows for free movement of terrorists on their land, a claim they have denied repeatedly. As Pakistan tries to pick up the pieces, here’s a closer look at what happened and how the country is seeing a resurgence of attacks by hardline terrorists. Bloody Sunday On Sunday (30 July) afternoon, a suicide bombing ripped across a rally for the conservative Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party (JUI-F), a government coalition partner, in Bajaur district in the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The attack killed 44 people and wounded another 200 more, with KP health minister Riaz Anwar telling AFP, “It was a suicide attack, with the bomber detonating himself in close proximity to the stage.” More than 500 supporters had gathered at a hall near a market for the rally, which was being held ahead of elections expected later this year, when the blast took place. Footage showed ambulances arriving to transfer the injured to hospitals. “There was dust and smoke around, and I was under some injured people from where I could hardly stand up, only to see chaos and some scattered limbs,” said Adam Khan (45), who was knocked to the ground by the blast and hit by splinters in his leg and both hands. Sabeeh Ullah, a 24-year-old who had his arm fractured by the blast, said the scale of injuries was horrifying. “I found myself lying next to someone who had lost their limbs. The air was filled with the smell of human flesh,” he told AFP by phone. [caption id=“attachment_12936762” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] People transport an injured victim of a powerful bomb upon arrival at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan. AP[/caption] Reports have stated that among the dead is Maulana Ziaullah, the emir of the JUI-F party in Tehsil Khar. JUI-F leaders, condemning the blast, said the attack was an attempt to remove them from the field before parliamentary elections in November, but added that such tactics would not work. The bombing drew nationwide condemnation, with the ruling and opposition parties extending condolences to the families of those who died in the attack. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his profound sorrow for the precious lives lost. He asserted that such attacks on political parties clearly indicate an enmity against Pakistan’s democratic system. He also called for the prompt identification of the culprits and demanded that they be given appropriate punishment.

باجوڑ، خار میں جمیعتِ علماءِ اسلام (ف) کے ورکرز کنوینشن پر حملے کی جتنی بھی مزمت کی جائے کم ہے. سیاسی جماعتوں پر حملے سے واضح ہے کہ دشمن پاکستان میں جمہوری نظام کے خلاف ہے جسکی قطعاً اجازت نہیں دی جائے گی. ذمہ داران کی نشاندہی کرکے انہیں قرار واقعی سزا دی جائے گی. پاکستانی قوم،…

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) July 30, 2023

President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi also expressed his condemnation and deep grief over the loss of lives in Bajaur. He extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and emphasised the immediate need to provide medical assistance to the injured. While no group has officially claimed responsibility for the attack, initial investigations suggested that the Islamic State group could be behind the attack. However, the Pakistan Taliban – the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – told the Associated Press that the bombing was aimed at setting Islamists against each other. [caption id=“attachment_12936782” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Rescue workers inspect the site after a bomb explosion in the Bajur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Sunday. AP[/caption] Rise in terrorism Sunday’s attack, perhaps the worst in the north-west since 2014, is a clear reflection of the breakdown in law and order in the area and the rise of terrorism. In fact, as per a report released by think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, the country has witnessed a steady and alarming rise in terror and suicide attacks. The report states that there have been 271 militant attacks in the first half of 2023, resulting in the loss of 389 lives and injuring 656 individuals. [caption id=“attachment_12936812” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Graphic: Pranay Bhardwaj[/caption] Compare this to 2022 – Pakistan recorded 151 attacks, causing 293 deaths and 487 injuries. This shows a clear 79 per cent increase in attacks during the first half of 2023 compared to the corresponding period last year. The report also showed that Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the most affected province during the first half of this year with 174 reported militant attacks, claiming 266 lives and injuring 463 others – a 51 per cent rise in attacks compared to the same period of time in 2022. Following Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was Balochistan. The area reported 75 terror incidents in the first half of 2023, resulting in 100 deaths and 163 injuries. The data reveals a 103 per cent increase in terror attacks compared to the same period in the previous year. **Also read: Pakistan’s Taliban challenge: With over 100 attacks in two months, Islamabad faces grim security situation** The Afghanistan link The rise in terrorist attacks in Pakistan’s north-west region is linked to Afghanistan and the takeover of the Taliban, say authorities. In fact, earlier this month, Pakistan’s defence minister Khwaja Asif accused the Taliban-led Afghanistan of providing safe havens to terrorists involved in bloodshed in his country. “Pakistan would no longer tolerate this,” he said, warning the Taliban of providing refuge to TTP militants. This warning came just a week after Pakistan’s military chief issued a similar warning to the Taliban. General Asim Munir had then said Pakistan’s armed forces were seriously concerned about the “safe havens and liberty of action” the Pakistani Taliban has in Afghanistan. He said he expected the Afghan Taliban to live up to their promises from a 2020 agreement with Washington to bar any terror group from using Afghan soil for attacks. If they fail to do so, these “intolerable attacks would draw an effective response,” he had then said. **Also read: Taliban back to bite Islamabad: How closure of crucial Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing is upending daily lives** The Taliban, on the other hand, continues to deny the existence of terrorists on their soil – a stance similar to what Pakistan takes when confronted by India. Ever since the takeover of Afghanistan by Taliban in 2021, the TTP has been emboldened and carried out increasing number of attacks in Pakistan. For the unaware, the TTP, which came into existence in 2007, is an extension of the Afghan Taliban, aiming to implement its interpretation of Sharia in Pakistan, especially in the tribal areas. Moreover, an end of the ceasefire with Pakistan in November last year has only seen TTP attacks rising. The TTP is also making efforts to broaden its appeal beyond the ethnic Pashtun community and is trying to lure Baloch separatists and other groups. On 12 April, the TTP claimed that two new militant groups from Balochistan’s Quetta and Kalat districts joined its ranks. [caption id=“attachment_12936822” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Since 2022 when the Pakistan Taliban ended the ceasefire with the government, they have increased their attacks in the region. File image/AFP[/caption] Madiha Afzal, a scholar at the Brookings Institution focusing on Pakistan told Deutsche Welle in an earlier report, “The TTP threat to Pakistan is significant, and it is growing.” “The TTP have been emboldened by a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and the Pakistani state’s shaky, uncertain approach to the group in recent years. Pakistan has tried negotiating with the group many times over the years; negotiations always fail because the group is existentially opposed to the Pakistani state and constitution," she told DW. “The only option the State has is to launch an extensive military operation against the group, as it did in 2014, but that is complicated this time around by the fact that the TTP can cross the border into Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, leaving Pakistan with a growing and hard-to-control terrorism problem on its hands.” With inputs from agencies