ISLAMABAD   -   The geographical spread of terrorist violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been expanding, with attacks in June 2024 spread across nine districts of the province.

While attacks on security forces personnel appear to be the prime priority of different militant groups in KP, in recent weeks and months educational institutions – mainly girls’ schools, polio vaccination workers, tribal elders, and political leaders have come under frequent attacks.

Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think tank, revealed these details in its monthly security review of Pakistan for June 2024.

Earlier this week, five people including former senator Hidayatullah Khan were killed in a blast while they were campaigning for an up-coming by-election in Bajaur tribal district of KP.

Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif led federal government had announced plans to launch a re-energised national counterterrorism operation ‘Azm-i-Istehkam’ after a recent surge in incidents of terrorism countrywide.

The report noted that during the month, the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other local Taliban groups orchestrated a total of 21 terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), which is two more than the previous month. These attacks claimed the lives of 28 people including 19 security and law enforcement personnel.

Balochistan experienced a total of six terrorist incidents during June 2024. These attacks resulted in four deaths among security and law enforcement personnel, and injuries to another 14 people.

Overall, the PIPS documented 27 terrorist attacks in Pakistan in June, down from 36 in the preceding month. These incidents comprised 21 attacks in KP and six in Balochistan.

Security forces and the counterterrorism departments (CTDs) of the police conducted five anti-militant operations in Pakistan in June, compared to 10 in the previous month. These operations resulted in the elimination of 17 militants and injuries to another three militants. Four out of the five reported operations took place in Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts of KP, while one operation happened in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh.