The Australian Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) released the tenth annual report on the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) for 2023, highlighting that Pakistan overtook Afghanistan in the number of terrorism-related deaths last year.
Deteriorating Security Situation in Pakistan
Pakistan reported a 120% increase in terrorism-related deaths in 2022, with the death toll surging to 643, up from 351 in 2021.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan reported a 58% drop in terrorism deaths from 1,499 in 2021 to 633 in 2022. The number of attacks dropped by 75% to 225 due to the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021. However, the report clarified that these numbers did not include instances of state-sponsored attacks and violence, thus excluding the Taliban authorities from the report’s scope.
Further, the number of deaths in Pakistan increased for the third consecutive year, with 2022 seeing the “largest year-on-year increase in the last decade.” Concerningly, the military is the biggest target of the attacks, with military personnel accounting for 55% of the deaths. Moreover, 63% of the attacks occurred along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.
The Balochistan Liberation Army surpassed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan as “the deadliest terrorist group,” perpetrating 36% of the attacks in the country.
10th Global Terrorism Index lists of top 5 terrorist organisations in 2022, by lethality rate:
— William Baldet MBE (@WillBaldet) March 15, 2023
1. ISIS
2. Al-Shabaab
3. ISIS Khorasan Province (IS-K)
4. Jamaat Nusrat Al Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM)
5. Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA - Pakistan Separatists)https://t.co/Z5vCnc51Fi
Afghanistan Still Most Terrorism-Impacted Country
Despite the improvement, Afghanistan recorded 633 deaths and 897 injuries in 225 attacks in 2022. The incidents of suicide bombings also dropped from 11 in 2021 to seven in 2022.
Nevertheless, Afghanistan accounted for 9% of the terrorism-related deaths globally. Twenty-six of its 34 provinces were victim to terrorism, particularly the Islamic State-Khorasan. Al-Qaeda has also had growing influence in Afghanistan.
#ISIS claimed today's suicide bombing in Mazar-e-Sharif #Afghanistan targeting Mohammad Dawood Muzammil, a top Taliban official + governor for Balkh. Comes day after claim of killing a Taliban official in Herat, marking rebound in country after quiet Febhttps://t.co/eJrZ8t2Flx pic.twitter.com/j23Nd8Njkf
— Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) March 9, 2023
A majority of the deaths were caused by bombings, which killed 434. Armed attacks caused 186 fatalities.
The report noted that rising tensions between the Taliban regime and Afghans, caused by the violation of women’s rights and political freedoms, will likely be exploited by terrorist groups.
South Asia Improves in GTI Score
Despite housing two of the ten countries with the worst GTI score and having the “highest average GTI score,” a trend which has continued over the past decade, the region “recorded an improvement.”
The average score improved “for the first time in four years” due to the drop in terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. Bhutan recorded its fifth year without any such attacks. Sri Lanka reported the region’s most significant improvement, with no terror attacks for the second consecutive year. Bangladesh and Nepal had merely two attacks with no deaths in 2022.
Pakistan is the only country in the region that saw a drop in its score.
The Islamic State-Khorasan conducted the most attacks among the 20 terror groups that are active in the region. It orchestrated 138 violent attacks, killing 498 across South Asia.