196 people in Pakistan lost lives to violence in first quarter of 2021: Report

Nearly 200 people in Pakistan have lost their lives in Pakistan due to violence in the first quarter of 2021 with 70 per cent of all fatalities reported in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

The erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), now merged into Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP), recorded the highest number of fatalities (67), followed by Balochistan (48), KP (35), Sindh (26), Punjab (18), and Islamabad (2), Dawn reported.

According to Quarter Security Report, Pakistan lost 196 persons in the first quarter of 2021, and another 42 were wounded.

The report was published by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS)-- Islamabad-based independent non-profit think tank founded by civil society activists.

More than 70 per cent of all fatalities were reported from KP and Balochistan.

A marginal uptick in the number of fatalities was recorded during this quarter as compared to the last quarter's figures.

Former Fata was the only region where there was a sharp upsurge in violence. FATA was a semi-autonomous tribal region in northwestern Pakistan that existed from 1947 until being merged with neighbouring province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018.

According to the report, the North and South Waziristan districts of KP saw the highest number of fatalities in the first quarter, followed by Karachi, Peshawar, Machh, and Sibbi with double-digit fatalities.

Like the previous quarter, gun violence was a major cause of fatalities.

Intelligence-based ground operations also continued to contribute to fatalities while other forms of violence like bomb explosions, armed attacks and dumping of dead bodies after abduction were also reported. Encounters between security personnel and suspects caused the demise of 12 people.

( With inputs from ANI )