The Worldfolio, a renowned global content service provider, released a report in October acknowledging the increased political and economic stability in Pakistan. The report specially noted that terrorist incidents had declined by 70% in 2015 as compared to 2014.

Pakistan Insider presents a timeline of the most prominent events from the previous year which showcases improvements in domestic and foreign-assisted programs to counter terrorism, violence and extremism. The timeline will also take into account notable achievements by the country’s armed forces for a clear picture. The data is being presented in a monthly format:

January

  • Security forces killed 31 militants in Tirah valley (Source)
  • Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) and Haqqani Network were banned (Source)
  • Lawmakers approved military courts to try special terrorism cases (Source)
  • US Secretary of State John Kerry in a meeting with PM Nawaz Sharif offered his country’s assistance to Pakistan against terrorism (Source)
  • Pakistan and Bahrain pledged to bolster security and military cooperation to counter terrorism (Source)
  • Lawmakers approved military courts to try special terrorism cases (Source)
  • Intelligence agencies arrested Yousaf al-Salafi in Lahore, who represented Daesh in Pakistan and was its main local recruiter (Source)
  • 7 people were martyred during a suicide attack by TTP Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (TTP-JA) on an Imambargah (Source)
  • Armed militants martyred 3 security forces personnel in Gwadar (Source)
  • Senior Pakistani and Afghan military commanders initiated talks on better border management and anti-terrorism efforts during visit of Lt Gen Shafiq Fazli, Commander of Afghan Border Police with 9 other officials to Pakistan (Source)
  • Maritime Security Agency (MSA) arrested 38 Indian fishermen who had strayed into local waters (Source)
  • Security of French embassy in Islamabad was tightened after intelligence reports warned of attacks in reaction to the publication of blasphemous caricatures by Charlie Hebdo (Source)
  • 4 civilians were killed by Indian border shelling in Zafarwal and Shakargarh sectors along the Sialkot Working Boundary (Source)
  • Security forces arrested 6 suspected militants in Chaman, Balochistan (Source)
  • DG ISI Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani; both agreed to boost anti-terrorist cooperation (Source)
  • Japan and Pakistan signed two agreements by which the Japanese government granted $19 million to improve security arrangements in Port Qasim, Karachi Port and energy saving in water supply system in Lahore (Source)
  • Tero Varjoranta, Deputy Director General (Safeguards)(DDG) at IAEA lauded Pakistan’s nuclear safety measures in a meeting with Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry in which then Chairman Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Dr Ansar Pervaiz was also present (Source)
  • DG ISPR clarified on behalf of Pakistan Army that no discrimination was being made between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban, also that the military was taking action equally against both (Source)

February

  • Army chief General Raheel Sharif visited Afghanistan to meet President Ghani and other senior officials. He vowed to uphold anti-terrorism cooperation between both neighboring countries (Source)
  • In light of army chief’s Kabul visit, the US lauded Pakistan’s growing security cooperation with Afghanistan (Source)
  • Schools beefed up security measures in light of the tragic APS Peshawar attack (Source)
  • Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Pakistan with an 11-member delegation to meet PM Sharif and other senior government officials. Both allies agreed on maintaining the strategic balance in South Asia (Source)
  • TTP commander Gul was killed in Kurram Agency; he was the terrorist organization’s deputy head in Hangu, Orakzai Agency and Kurram Agency (Source)
  • Pakistan and Turkey vowed to fight terrorism in a meeting between PM Sharif and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in Islamabad (Source)
  • Army chief, DG ISI, DG Rangers, Karachi corps commander and PM Sharif attended a critical security meeting in Karachi to review the law and order situation (Source)
  • UN Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown proposed a security plan for Pakistani schools which included improved safety measures (Source)
  • US National Security Adviser Susan Rice assured Pakistan of full support in anti-terrorism efforts during a meeting with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar in Washington (Source)
  • Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar met UK National Security Adviser Sir Kim Darroch in London to discuss counter terrorism issues of mutual interest (Source)
  • Pakistan, Afghanistan and China agreed upon joint efforts for regional peace during the first round of China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Strategic Dialogue held in Kabul by senior Foreign Ministry officials of the three sides (Source)
  • Lt Gen Vincent R Stewart, Director US Defence Intelligence Agency, acknowledged Pakistan Army’s efforts through Operation Zarb-e-Azb and expressed confidence in Pakistan’s nuclear security efforts (Source)
  • The Obama administration requested more than $800 million in economic and security assistance for Pakistan (Source)
  • US temporarily shut down consulates in Peshawar and Lahore for security concerns (Source)
  • DG ISI visited US for talks for regional security and counter terrorism (Source)
  • Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed stressed the need for a national cyber security strategy (Source)

March

  • Pakistan Day Parade held after a gap of 7 years (Source)
  • 11 security personnel injured in an IED blast in Khyber Agency (Source)
  • Security forces killed 34 militants in Tirah Valley (Source)
  • Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) spokesman Salahuddin Ayubi was among 30 suspected militants killed in Tirah Valley (Source)
  • Security forces killed 15 terrorists in Khyber Agency (Source)
  • UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown announced a 1,000-school pilot project in Pakistan under the Safe Schools Initiative to access risk preparedness of school and generate recommendations for school and community safety (Source)
  • The 6th Think Tanks Forum of the Islamic Countries in Islamabad gave the ‘Istanbul Award’ to Pakistan Army and its current chief “for their brave fight against terrorism in Pakistan” (Source)
  • Army chief visited PMA Kakul and vowed that the military would ensure peace and security in the country (Source)
  • Lt Gen (Retd) Khalid Kidwai, former DG Strategic Plans Division (SPD), said Pakistan’s Tactical Nuclear Weapons (TNWs) were developed to deter India (Source)
  • 15 people were killed suicide bombers attacked two churches in Lahore (Source)
  • Interior Minister Nisar said Pakistan would overhaul its security system by revising policies and plans (Source)
  • Government officials announced the establishment of a ‘special security division’ comprising 12,000 troops to protect Chinese workers attached to the China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) project (Source)
  • Militant attack near security check-post in Peshawar killed 3 people, including one militant (Source)
  • Army chief advised security agencies to work fearlessly during an address at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) (Source)

April

  • Parliament passed a resolution for maintaining neutrality in the Yemen fiasco to avoid triggering an internal sectarian war (Source)
  • Pakistan and Turkey pledged to work for a peaceful solution to the Yemen crisis (Source)
  • Terrorists killed 20 laborers who were working on a bridge at Sohrab Dam in Gagdan area of Turbat, Balochistan (Source)
  • 10 suspected militants were killed in Khyber Agency (Source)
  • US government approved $1 billion worth of arms sales to Pakistan (Source)
  • Pakistan’s Sikh community asked for increased security (Source)
  • 35 militants were killed by air strikes in North and South Waziristan (Source)
  • The 181st Corps Commanders Conference agreed that continuation of the Yemen conflict would deeply impact regional security (Source)
  • 2 FC personnel were martyred and a militant killed during a gun battle in Jiwani area of Gwadar, Balochistan (Source)
  • 10 attackers who attempted to kill Malala Yousafzai were sentenced to life imprisonment (Source)
  • Security forces near Chaman, Balochistan seized a vehicle laden with more than a ton of explosives (Source)
  • Security forces killed 5 terrorists in Orakzai Agency (Source)
  • Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, commander-designate for Daesh in Pakistan, was killed along with 2 others in a bomb explosion in Toor Dara area of Tirah Valley (Source)

May

  • Pakistan Army took control of security at Gaddafi Stadium during a series with the visiting Zimbabwe team (Source)
  • Chairman Zimbabwe Cricket Board Wilson Manase praised Pakistan’s security measures for the series and urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to re-examine its decision not to play in Pakistan (Source)
  • Security forces killed 5 terrorists in Khyber Agency (Source)
  • Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry named Indian intelligence agency RAW as a key source of terrorism in Pakistan (Source)
  • China warned Pakistan about RAW’s attempts to sabotage the CPEC (Source)
  • 5 foreign delegates were killed and 2 pilots martyred when an army helicopter crashed in Naltar Valley, Gilgit (Source)
  • 4 police officials were martyred while protecting the Gomal Zam Dam Road in Tank, Dera Ismail Khan (Source)
  • Interior Minister Nisar chaired a meeting to review the security situation in Karachi (Source)
  • 43 Ismaili Muslims were massacred by militants in Karachi (Safoora bus attack) (Source)
  • US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP) Ambassador Daniel Feldman appreciated Pakistan military’s role in the fight against terrorism (Source)
  • Missile strike killed 4 suspected militants in Miranshah, North Waziristan (Source)
  • Militants martyred a security guard at a government school in Dera Ghazi Khan (Source)
  • Interior Minister Nisar ordered a new security plan for religious minorities (Source)
  • One official was martyred and 5 militants were killed when militants attacked a check post in Gharwayee area of Tehsil Datakhel, North Waziristan (Source)
  • Army chief assured the Aga Khan that perpetrators/facilitators of the Safoora bus attack would be brought to justice (Source)
  • Army chief directed intelligence agencies to be more proactive in thwarting hostile campaigns by foreign agencies in Pakistan (Source)
  • Army chief said during an address at Command & Staff College Quetta that only a secure Pakistan could become prosperous; he added that Operation Zarb-e-Azb had entered a “decisive phase” (Source)

June

  • Army chief said there was no need to worry about India’s belligerent behavior and that the relations in the coming days with India would “improve” (Source)
  • Pakistan welcomed efforts for normalization of ties with India to improve regional security (Source)
  • 19 terrorists were killed and 7 soldiers martyred in North Waziristan (Source)
  • Army chief said the entire world endorsed Pakistan’s security concerns (Source)
  • The annual “Congressionally mandated Country Report on Terrorism 2014,” released by US State Department said that Pakistan is a constructive and active participant in the Nuclear Security Summit process and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. It added that Pakistan had worked to strengthen its strategic trade controls (Source)
  • 25 militants were killed by security forces in North Waziristan (Source)
  • Interior Minister Nisar lashed out at India after the latter hinted at conducting precision strikes similar to the ones it did in Myanmar (Source)
  • During the seventh round of the US-Pakistan Security, Strategic Stability, and Nonproliferation (SSS&NP) Working Group in Washington, US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller met with Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry and expressed confidence on Pakistan’s ability to safeguard its nuclear weapons (Source)
  • Army chief met PM Sharif to brief about India’s interference in domestic affairs which worsened the internal security situation (Source)
  • Army chief during his visit to Sri Lanka said security cooperation was central to their bilateral relationship (Source)
  • Interior Minister Nisar said no NGOs would be allowed to work in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and FATA (Source)
  • Army chief assured visiting Chinese Vice Minister of Ministry of State Security Dong Haizhou that Pakistan Army of the security of CPEC (Source)
  • China vetoed India’s attempt at UN for action against Pakistan over the release of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi (Source)

July

  • Indian BSF killed 4 Pakistani civilians near the Sialkot Chaprar sector (Source)
  • 2 Pakistani soldiers were martyred in cross-border firing by Afghan security forces in Angoor Adda (Source)
  • US National Security Adviser Rice acknowledged Pakistan’s sacrifices in the war against terrorism (Source)
  • At least 3 people including a security officer were killed in a firing incident that took place on Joint Road in Quetta (Source)
  • 3 suspected militants including Jaishul Islam Balochistan chief Mehmood Rind were killed during a search operation by FC and agencies in Eastern Bypass area of Quetta (Source)
  • Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni appreciated Pakistan Army’s efforts to bring peace to the region in a meeting with army chief during his visit to Italy (Source)
  • Italian Chief of Defence Forces General Claudio Graziano also praised Pakistan Army’s sacrifices and role in securing the region (Source)
  • Malik Ishaq of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, his 2 sons were among 14 terrorists killed by Counter Terrorism Department Punjab officials during an encounter in Dera Ghazi Khan (Source)
  • ‘Abdali’, head of Al Qaeda in Pakistan, was among 4 militants killed during a police raid in Kala Shah Kaku area of Sheikhupura (Source)
  • Army chief praised the valor of Talib Hussain, a security guard who had embraced martyrdom while intercepting a suicide attacker at the entrance of a university in Quetta (Source)
  • Pakistan’s Ambassador to UN Maleeha Lodhi urged the UN Security Council to develop a comprehensive strategy against Daesh (Source)

August

  • Punjab Home Minister Col (Retd) Shuja Khanzada was martyred at his home town in Shadi Khan, Attock (Source) (Pakistan Insider Comment)
  • Pakistan promised to extend full cooperation to Afghanistan in the fight against terrorism as it redoubled efforts to defuse tensions triggered by a barrage of deadly attacks in Kabul (Source)
  • The White House expressed confidence on the safety and security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons (Source)
  • Security forces busted a foreign sponsored gang and foiled a terror bid to sabotage August 14 celebrations in Karachi (Source)
  • PM Sharif chaired a high-level meeting to review the internal security situation and implementation of National Action Plan (NAP) which was attended by the army chief, among others (Source)
  • 40 militants were killed and many others injured in ground and aerial offensives launched by the security forces in Shawal valley, North Waziristan (Source)
  • 4 security personnel were martyred by an Afghan forces rocket attack in Khyber Agency (Source)
  • 3 including a Lt Col embraced martyrdom during clashes with TTP terrorists in South Waziristan (Source)
  • Abducted Chinese cyclist Hong Xudong who was kidnapped in May 2014 was released in Pakistan (Source)

September

  • 42 dead including 13 militants during attack at PAF Camp Badaber (Source)
  • Pakistan held border talks with Indian officials in Delhi (Source)
  • Bangladesh women’s cricket team said they were pushing ahead with matches in Pakistan after receiving assurances about security (Source)
  • PM Sharif chaired a high-level meeting at PM House Islamabad to review the internal security situation (Source)
  • National Command Authority (NCA) meeting reposed confidence on Pakistan’s nuclear command-and-control structure (Source)
  • 6 security forces personnel martyred by suicide attack in Jamrud (Source)
  • 31 militants killed by air strikes in North Waziristan Agency and Khyber Agency (Source)
  • Army chief visited Germany to attend and deliver an address at the Central and South Asia Security Conference (Source)
  • Army chief elaborated Pakistan’s security perspective through an address at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) (Source)
  • PM Sharif and army chief discussed security of CPEC (Source)
  • Interior Minister Nisar said NAP would be intensified to improve domestic security situation (Source)
  • President Mamnoon Hussain met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and said that “almost all” ETIM militants had been eliminated (Source)

October

  • PM Sharif told US President Obama that action would be taken against all terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) (Source)
  • PM Sharif and army chief held a high-level meeting to discuss the domestic security situation (Source)
  • China called for better security provision for its workers engaged in CPEC projects (Source)
  • Interior Minister Nisar said Pakistan’s security was linked to peace and stability in Balochistan (Source)
  • Lt Gen (Retd) Nasser Khan Janjua was appointed National Security Adviser (Source) (Pakistan Insider Analysis)

November

  • Army chief expressed full confidence in Pakistan’s nuclear security regime during his visit to Pakistan’s Centre of Excellence for Nuclear Security (PCENS) (Source)
  • PM Sharif and his British counterpart David Cameron discussed a host of issues, including security on the sidelines of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in the Maltese capital Valletta (Source)
  • Vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, General Fan Changlong, during a meeting with army chief lauded Pakistan Army’s anti-terrorism efforts (Source)
  • Army chief discussed regional security issues with John Kerry during the former’s official trip to Washington (Source)
  • Vice Chairman of Central Military Commission of China General Fan Changlong had called on the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah during his official visit to Pakistan and held discussions on professional matters as well as on the security situation in Indian Ocean, maritime security cooperation and operational development (Source)
  • PM Sharif visited Uzbekistan to discuss regional security (Source)
  • Gunmen martyred 4 Rangers personnel who were guarding a mosque in Karachi (Source)
  • US Senators hailed Pakistan military’s efforts against terrorism (Source)
  • Foreign Secretary Chaudhry said nuclear safety was Pakistan’s ‘top priority’ (Source)
  • Chief of Naval Staff and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman vowed to fortify vigil at sea to enhance security during exercise ‘Seaspark-15’ (Source)
  • Army chief discussed regional security and newly emerging challenges of terrorism with Brazilian Chief of Joint Staff General Jose Carlos De Nardi (Source)
  • National Assembly passed a bill to secure military court officials and witnesses (Source)

December

  • High level Pak-India delegation comprising NSAs, Foreign Secretaries and others met in Bangkok to discuss a range of security issues (Source)
  • Islamabad hosted the Heart of Asia Conference for regional efforts to establish lasting peace in Afghanistan (Source)
  • 26 killed by blast outside NADRA office in Mardan (Source)
  • Civil-military leaders vowed not to compromise on ensuring complete internal security (Source)
  • PM Sharif said the government would not compromise on peace in Karachi (Source)
  • US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken met the army chief and lauded Pakistan Army’s role in Operation Zarb-e-Azb (Source)
  • Pakistan assured support to SCO to curb terrorism and stressed the need to counter militant ideologies (Source)
  • Chinese envoy Ambassador Sun Weidong lauded the improved security situation in Pakistan (Source)
  • Ambassador Richard G. Olson, US Special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan met the army chief and discussed regional security issues (Source)
  • German Defence Minister Ursula van der Leyen lauded Pakistan’s role in regional security (Source)

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