According to a report published by the Australia and US-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), Pakistan ranks 5th out of 163 countries on the Global Terrorism Index.
This is the first time in a decade that Pakistan has managed to drop its position from the top 4 ranks. The reports notes, “Terrorism has fallen significantly in the epicenters of Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria, which are four of the five countries most affected by terrorism.”
It is the third consecutive year that the report has measured fewer deaths by terrorism in the country, which appears like a promising consistency. “In 2016, there were 956 deaths from terrorism; the lowest number in a decade. This is a 12 percent decrease from the previous year and a 59 per cent decline from the peak in 2013,” writes the report.
The report acknowledges the contribution of the Pakistan Army in this regard. It recognizes the operation Zarb-e-Azb — that started in 2014 — as a powerful counter to terrorism. It killed 3500 militants and terrorists throughout the country, according to the official reports.
Peter Oborne and Sabin Agha, in a featured article at The Spectator comment on the improving situation of Pakistan as, “Violence has not just dropped a bit. It is down by three quarters in the last two years. The country is safer than at any point since George W. Bush launched his war on terror 15 years ago.”
So, it’s a nice progress in one direction. But the economic setback that the country has suffered from massive terrorism in the past years is still deep. The GTI report recognized the economic impact on Pakistan and calculated its impact using IEP’s cost of violence methodology. The result to come out was a 2.8 percent loss to the GDP in 2016.
However, according to the present economic outlook, Pakistan seems to be rapidly recovering. There is a consistency in the GDP growth that is expected to stay at the average of 5.7 percent in the period between 2017-2020.
Moreover, CPEC is it at play. Trade is anticipated to surge and so the foreign investments. The agricultural sector is also showing positive metrics as CPEC has provided avenues for agricultural growth. They include planting and breeding, agricultural products processing, storage and transportation, infrastructure construction, and epidemic disease prevention and control.
Nevertheless, the social fabric is reforming with the thread of hope and darn of conviction. People have really pulled themselves out of the climate of terror. They are back to life with aspirations to create a better Pakistan for themselves as well as for the generations to come, which in itself is a win against terrorism.
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