BLA among main perpetrators of terror in 2024

• Attacks by Baloch insurgents saw 119pc rise from previous year; Hafiz Gul Bahadur group remained major threat in parts of KP
• PIPS report urges increasing capacity, role of civilian law enforcement agencies in both provinces to better address threats

ISLAMABAD: In 2024, the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) emerged as a key perpetrator of terrorist violence in Pakistan.

While the attacks by the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) killed about 300 people during the year, BLA-orchestrated attacks caused 225 fatalities, according to the Pakistan Security Report 2024.

Released by Islamabad-based think tank Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) on Wednesday, the report documents a disturbing rise in both the frequency and intensity of terrorist attacks in the country, sparking fears that the security landscape could regress to pre-2014 levels if the current trajectory persists.

It noted that in 2024, the number of terror attacks reached levels comparable to the security situation in 2014 or earlier.

A significant difference is that unlike the period before 2014, terrorists no longer control specific territories inside Pakistan. Yet, the prevailing insecurity in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan is alarming, the report says.

Over 95 per cent of terrorist attacks recorded in 2024 were concentrated in KP and Balochistan.

KP recorded the highest number of terrorist incidents in the country in 2024, with 295 attacks.

Meanwhile, attacks by various outlawed Baloch insurgent groups, primarily the BLA and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), saw a staggering 119 per cent increase, accounting for 171 incidents in Balochistan.

Worsening situation

The report noted that after a gradual decline in terrorist violence since 2014-15, the trend began reversing following the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul.

For the fourth consecutive year, the number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan increased in 2024.

In 2024, as many as 358 personnel of security and law-enforcement agencies were martyred in terrorist attacks. In these attacks, 139 militants were also killed.

Markedly, 2020 was the last year to witness a relative decline in terrorist violence in Pakistan, a trend that had been ongoing since 2014, following military operations in the ex-Fata tribal areas and Karachi.

The report noted that while the banned TTP remained a key perpetrator of terrorist violence in KP, the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group emerged as a significant threat in Bannu and parts of Waziristan. A case in point was the group’s November attack on the Mali Khel check post in Bannu, where 12 soldiers were martyred.

Over the past year, the group has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks, including suicide bombings, in Bannu and Waziristan. Similarly, the Lashkar-i-Islam-TTP nexus in Khyber district has exacerbated the terrorism situation in the district.

Local residents have been voicing growing concerns over the increased presence and movements of militants in Khyber, which shares a border with Peshawar.

Compared to 15 in the previous year, 12 terrorist attacks occurred in Sindh, including 10 in Karachi and one each in Dadu and Larkana districts. These attacks killed a total of 14 people and injured 28 others.

Punjab experienced 11 terrorist attacks in 2024, a significant increase from six in the previous year. These attacks claimed six lives and left 12 people injured.

Recommendations

Although kinetic actions and enhanced surveillance by security forces may reduce or prevent some attacks of the TTP, the root cause — shelter and support available to the proscribed group within Afghanistan — must be addressed to achieve long-term security, recommends the report.

It adds that there is a need to increase the capacity and role of civilian law enforcement agencies, especially the police’s counter-terrorism departments (CTDs) in KP and Balochistan, to better address terrorist threats through community-rooted structures.

The issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, often exploited by insurgents to gain support and recruits, must be addressed through a lawful and amicable policy to counter militant narratives effectively.

“There is a critical need to isolate the BLA from the broader Baloch population,” says the report.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2025