[GEO.TV] A sharp increase in hard boy attacks across the country has been recorded in the month of August with 99 terror incidents reported so far, a report compiled by the Pakistain Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) stated.This, according to the report, is the highest number recorded in any single month since November 2014. These attacks have resulted in 112 deaths and 87 injuries, mostly targeting security forces personnel and civilians, The News reported on Sunday.
The data stated an 83% rise in August when compared with July, as the month saw 54 attacks. The PICSS report also mentioned four suicide kabooms, three in tribal districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and one in mainland KP.
The month of July, meanwhile, witnessed five suicide attacks, the highest in a year. Overall, the country witnessed 22 suicide attacks in the first eight months of 2023, in which 227 people have been killed and 497 injured.
The PICSS data also shows that security forces responded effectively to the hard boy threat, averting many attacks killing at least 24 hard boys, and arresting 69 others in various operations across the country.
The data showed that Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
and erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) were the most affected regions by hard boy violence in August, compared to the previous month. Balochistan witnessed a 65% increase in hard boy attacks, from 17 in July to 28 in August, while erstwhile FATA witnessed a 106% increase, from 18 in July to 37 in August. However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all...
both regions also saw a decrease in fatalities, by 19% and 29% respectively.
KP, excluding its tribal districts, also saw a significant increase in hard boy attacks, from 15 in July to 29 in August, an 83% rise. The deaths and injuries also increased by 188% and 73% respectively.
The province was mainly targeted by the TTP and its splinter groups, who grabbed credit for several attacks. The province of Sindh witnessed a slight increase in hard boy attacks, from three in July to five in August. The deaths also increased from one to four.
The province of Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....
remained relatively peaceful, with no hard boy attack reported in August. The only attack reported in July was a low-intensity blast near a cop shoppe in Lahore, which caused one injury.
The data also reveals that security forces remained the primary target of hard boy violence, accounting for 50% of the total deaths and 63% of the total injured. There was a 51% rise in fatalities of the security forces in August compared with July 2023.