Coordinated terrorist attacks across Pakistan on 23 June 2017 killed 96 people and wounded over 200, highlighting cross-border militant coordination.
Key Facts
- Total killed
- 96 people
- Total wounded
- over 200 people
- Quetta attack type
- Suicide bombing targeting policemen
- Parachinar attack type
- Double bombing at a market
- Karachi attack type
- Targeted killing of four policemen
- Quetta responsibility
- Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and ISIL
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Militant groups including Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and ISIL operated from sanctuaries in Afghanistan, according to the Pakistani military. These organizations had been conducting ongoing campaigns against Pakistani security forces and civilians, exploiting cross-border safe havens to plan and coordinate attacks inside Pakistan.
On 23 June 2017, three separate terrorist attacks struck Pakistan simultaneously. A suicide bomber targeted police in Quetta, a double bombing hit a crowded market in Parachinar, and four policemen were killed in targeted shootings in Karachi. Together the attacks killed 96 people and wounded more than 200 others.
The attacks intensified Pakistani accusations that terrorist groups were being sheltered in Afghanistan, straining bilateral relations. The Pakistani military publicly attributed coordination of both the Quetta and Parachinar attacks to militant sanctuaries across the Afghan border, renewing calls for Afghanistan to act against groups operating from its territory.