Pakistan ranks third on Global Terrorism Index

LONDON: A new global study by London-based Institute for Economics and Peace has ranked Pakistan third on the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) list.

The report said Iraq was the country hit hardest by terrorism, with 2,492 attacks that killed more than 6,300 people. It was followed by Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Nigeria and Syria in fourth and fifth place respectively.

With 10,000 worldwide attacks in 2013, the report says Pakistan in particular saw a 37 per cent increase in deaths and 28 per cent increase in injuries since 2012. The report also said that deaths resulting from terror incidents in Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Syria account for more than 80 per cent of the the total deaths from attacks.

The report also says that the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) between 2000 and 2013 has claimed 778 attacks, of which 12 per cent were carried out by suicide bombers. It also says that the Taliban have the highest number of fighters, estimated to be between 36,000 to 60,000.

1: Pakistan is ranked third on the GTI list.

2: Over 80 per cent of the lives lost to terrorist activity in 2013 occurred in only five countries Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria.

3: Terrorism in Pakistan is strongly influenced by its proximity to Afghanistan with most attacks occurring near the border involving the Taliban. Like in Afghanistan, terrorism increased significantly in Pakistan in 2013, with a 37 per cent increase in deaths and 28 per cent increase in injuries since 2012. Nearly half of all attacks had no groups that have claimed responsibility.

4: The deadliest group in Pakistan in 2013, responsible for almost a quarter of all deaths and 49 per cent of all claimed attacks, is Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani Taliban.

5: Terrorism in Pakistan has a diverse array of actors. In 2013 there were 23 different terrorist groups, down from 29 groups in 2012. However, 11 groups account for the majority of the 270 claimed attacks. While many of these groups are Islamist there are also other organisations such as separatist movements for Baloch, the Bettani tribe and Sindhi people.

6: Over 60 per cent of fatalities were from bombings and explosions and around 26 per cent from firearms.

7: A quarter of targets and deaths were against private citizens, with police accounting for 20 per cent of targets and deaths. The deadliest attacks were against religious figures and institutions which, on average, killed over five people and injured over 11 per attack.

8: In 2013 there were over 100 attacks on educational institutions, with a total of 150 casualties.

9: In 2013 there were 71 suicide attacks responsible for around 2,740 casualties.

10: More than 500 cities in Pakistan had at least one terrorist incident in 2013, with two or more incidents occurring in 180 cities. Of all attacks 16 per cent occurred in the largest city of Karachi in the south.

11: The city of Parachinar in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the closest point in Pakistan to Kabul in Afghanistan, has among the highest rates of deaths per incident in Pakistan with 87 people killed from seven incidents.

12: Generally, the dispute with Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir is the source of terrorism. In 2013 three Islamist groups were responsible for around 15 per cent of deaths. This includes Hizbul Mujahideen, an Islamist group allegedly based in Pakistan with a membership of around 15,000.

13: The country with the second largest increase in the numbers of deaths was Pakistan. However, Pakistan saw a much smaller increase than Iraq with 520 more deaths in 2013 than 2012.

14: Pakistan saw a substantial increase in the number of deaths per attack. In particular, the second and third biggest terrorist groups, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jundallah, averaged 20 more fatalities per attack in 2013 than the previous year. This highlights the growing lethality of the groups.