During the first quarter of 2012 (January-March), as many as 517 incidents of political violence were reported from all regions, an increase of 45 percent compared to the previous quarter (October-December), says a Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) report.
The report released on Wednesday, says that violence has affected 2,043 people, claimed 975 lives, left 927 injured and another 141 kidnapped.
MOST BALOCHIS KILLED:
Balochistan reported the highest number of incidents (157) of political violence, followed by Sindh (136), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (120), FATA (75), Punjab (28) and Islamabad Capital Territory (one).
The first two months of the quarter were the most violent for Balochistan with the highest number of 41 incidents, reported in January and 64 in the following month. On the other hand Sindh was on top in March reporting 62 incidents.
KARACHI THE MOST VIOLENT:
Registering an increase of 127 percent over the last quarter of 2011, Karachi remained the most violent district where 125 incidents of violence took place. Quetta ranked second with 46 incidents followed by Peshawar (37), Khyber Agency (33), Dera Bugti (17), Dera Ismail Khan (13), Nasirabad (12), Charsadda (11), Mardan (11) and Khuzdar (10).
MORE MEN KILLED THAN WOMEN:
In the quarter monitored, 85 percent of the victims were male, a total of 1,733. Out of these, 868 were killed, 731 injured and 134 kidnapped. Four percent victims were female while 11 percent of them included both males and females, their respective proportions however, could not be determined, the report said.
TARGET KILLING THE MOST COMMON METHOD:
Just like in the previous quarter, target killing was the most common form of violence with 160 incidents being recorded. There was an increase in incidents of terrorism aimed at the general public, which amounted to 98, as compared to 72 recorded in the previous quarter.
The attacks on state security forces almost doubled to 92.
This report, compiled every three months, said that the number of victims of collateral damage had doubled during the reporting period, with 265 people becoming victims against 130 in the previous quarter; 81 people were killed, 175 injured and nine were kidnapped.
During this quarter, 44 people affiliated with political parties were killed, injured or kidnapped. The number of victims in the previous quarter was 52. There were 33 victims in Sindh while KP and Balochistan reported five similar incidents each. Only one incident however, was recorded in Punjab.
