London: A new report released on Thursday by UK-based non-governmental organization Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) reveals that Pakistan ranked seventh globally in 2024 among countries where civilians suffered the most from explosive weapons.
According to the report, a total of 790 civilians were affected by 248 incidents involving explosive weapons across Pakistan in 2024. These incidents resulted in 210 civilian deaths. While this marks a 9% decrease in civilian fatalities compared to 2023, the overall number of incidents rose by 11%, up from 218 in the previous year.
Titled Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), the report ranks Pakistan among the top 15 countries and regions most impacted by explosive weapons in 2024, placing it seventh on the list.
The report attributes the majority of civilian harm—76%—to non-state actors. Among these groups, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) was highlighted for its significant role, reportedly causing injuries or deaths to 119 civilians in 2024.
The BLA emerged as one of the leading non-state groups deploying explosive weapons last year, responsible for 15% of total civilian harm. This marks a staggering 440% increase compared to the 22 incidents attributed to the group in 2023.
Unidentified non-state actors were responsible for 54% (423) of civilian casualties, a decrease from 541 affected civilians in 2023.
All recorded suicide attacks in the country in 2024 were carried out by non-state actors. Although the BLA was responsible for only 2% (2 out of 9) of these incidents, the group accounted for 89% (92) of all civilian casualties resulting from such attacks.
Unidentified non-state actors were responsible for 6% (5) of suicide attacks, leading to 11% of the civilian casualties from these incidents.
Overall, 2024 witnessed the highest number of terrorist incidents in Pakistan since 2014. It also ranked as the second worst year for civilian harm since 2018 and the second deadliest for non-state combatants since 2015, according to the AOAV report.
