By Azaz Syed
Pakistan witnessed a ten-fold increase in suicide bombings in 2007 as compared with 2006, an Interior Ministry document made available to The Daily Times revealed.
According to the document, 2007 witnessed 56 suicide attacks, killing 419 law enforcement personnel (LEP) and injuring 217 civilians. This is compared to six such incidents in 2006, in which 46 LEP and 91 civilians lost their lives.
The past year also saw an increase of 100 percent in attacks targeting LEP, as 234 of them lost their lives in a total of 465 attacks across the country. Two hundred and sixty-two civilians were also killed. In comparison, 224 attacks targeted LEP in 2006, resulting in 82 personnel and 159 civilians being killed.
The year 2007 also witnessed over a 100 percent increase in bomb blasts, as 42 LEP and 164 civilians lost their lives in 477 blasts compared to the killings of nine law enforcement personnel and 110 civilians in 2006.
Most casualties: The past year also topped in total causalities, as 2,116 people, including 558 LEP, were killed and 3,962 injured in 1,825 attacks compared to 1,482 attacks in 2006 in which 967 people, including 263 LEP, were killed and 1,895 injured.
Decrease in three areas: The year 2007 saw a decrease in three different categories of terrorism — missile/rocket firing, improvised explosive device explosions and mine explosions. Only 417 incidents of missile/rocket firing occurred in 2007, as compared to 528 incidents in 2006.
This article appeared in Daily Times on January 13, 2008
