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Zardari emphasises need to win ‘war on terrorism’

Balochistan witnessed Jaffar Express hijacking which resulted in loss of 31 lives

2 MIN READ

Zardari said: Terrorists will be defeated at all costs. Terrorists are trying to divide the nation. The situation is clear, the state has to survive, the war against terrorism has to be won.

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari emphasised the need to win the “war on terrorism” at all costs during a visit to Quetta amid the prevailing tense security environment in Balochistan, according to Dawn.

The visit comes amid an upsurge in terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Just this month, Balochistan witnessed the unprecedented Jaffar Express hijacking which resulted in at least 31 lives being lost and a suicide blast in Noshki District that left five dead.

A statement from the PPP said President Zardari arrived in Quetta on Wednesday on a one-day visit to review the provincial law and order situation. He later attended a briefing on law and order in the province.

In a statement issued on the meeting’s discussion, the president was quoted as saying: “Terrorists will be defeated at all costs. Terrorists are trying to divide the nation. The situation is clear, the state has to survive, the war against terrorism has to be won.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan has been ranked second in the Global Terrorism Index 2025, with terrorist attack deaths rising by 45 per cent over the past year to 1,081.

The report, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), analyses global terrorism trends over the past 17 years. It ranks 163 countries, covering 99.7 per cent of the world’s population, based on factors such as terrorist incidents, fatalities, injuries, and hostage situations, Dawn e-paper said on Wednesday.

According to the report, this is the fifth consecutive year in which an increase in terrorism-related deaths has been recorded and the largest year-on-year increase in the last decade for Pakistan. This trend is mirrored by a rise in the number of terror attacks, which more than doubled from 517 in 2023 to 1,099 in 2024. This is the first year that attacks have exceeded 1,000 since the inception of the Index.

The number of countries recording a terrorist attack increased from 58 to 66, according to the 12th annual Global Terrorism Index (GTI) released on Wednesday.

This reverses nearly a decade of improvements, with 45 countries deteriorating and 34 improving. The four deadliest terrorist groups intensified their violence in 2024, driving an 11 per cent rise in fatalities. In the West, lone wolf attacks now dominate, accounting for 93 per cent of fatal attacks over the past five years.

Most affected region

The report says Pakistan has experienced a significant rise in terrorism since the Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan. Terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan have intensified their attacks, particularly along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The provinces of Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa remain the most heavily affected regions, with these western border areas accounting for over 96pc of terrorist attacks and deaths in Pakistan in 2024.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, the TTP has capitalised on increased operational freedom and access to safe havens across the border. This has allowed the group to plan and execute attacks with greater impunity.

The TTP has continuously targeted security forces and infrastructure to undermine the state authority and disrupt military operations. In response, the Pakistan government has introduced counterterrorism initiatives, such as Operation Azm-i-Istehkam.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) was responsible for Pakistan’s deadliest terror attack of 2024, when a suicide bomber killed at least 25 civilians and soldiers at Quetta railway station in Balochistan.

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