Ethnic freedom movement Soared In Pakistan After Taliban Established In Afghanistan
The freedom movement by various oppressed ethnic groups in Pakistan have increased manifolds since the Taliban has established its rule in Afghanistan. This has been confirmed by a study conducted by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Study (PICSS). It has noted that the highest number of attacks in a single month in 2021 was recorded in August when 45 attacks were carried out by freedom fighters.
The study by Pakistani thinktank has stated that the rise in militancy in the country coincided with the Taliban’s increasing offensive in Afghanistan that started in May and achieved its ultimate peak when the radical organisation took over Afghanistan in mid-August.
The average number of attacks in Pakistan saw a 36 per cent jump. In 2020, 16 attacks were recorded while in 2021, it soared to 25, which was the highest after 2017, the report stated.
According to PICSS data, Baluchistan was the most affected district, recording a 110 per cent rise in Baluch attacks, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tribal districts with 27 per cent in 2021.
Baluchistan province also recorded the most deaths (170) in 103 attacks by Baluch fighters. The highest number of injured were also reported from this region where more than 50 per cent of the total injured (331) were recorded.
The tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were the second most affected region of the country which though witnessed a similar number of attacks as Baluchistan (103), but saw lesser deaths (117).
In Sindh, 15 attacks by Sindh Liberation Forces were reported in which 23 people were killed and 29 injured. In Punjab, militants carried out 10 attacks in which 10 people were killed and 87 injured.
The attacks by ethnic freedom fighters went up in 2021 in almost all administrative regions of the country except Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan.
