A new report from the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) has highlighted a distressing increase in suicide attacks in the country. So far in 2023, Pakistan has witnessed 18 suicide attacks, resulting in at least 200 fatalities and over 450 injuries. Notably, this year’s figures have already surpassed the total number of suicide attacks recorded in the entirety of 2022, which saw 15 such incidents.
The tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province have been hit the hardest, accounting for half of the suicide attacks this year. The nine attacks in this region claimed approximately 60 lives and left over 150 people injured. One of the recent attacks occurred at a Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) workers’ convention in KP’s Bajaur district, where 54 people, including more than 20 minors, lost their lives.
Mainland KP also faced devastation, with four suicide attacks causing the death of more than 110 people and leaving 245 injured. The Peshawar Police Line attack stood out as the deadliest in the country, claiming the lives of over 100 individuals.