By Ijaz Kakakhel

Pakistan's telecom infrastructure came under sustained attacks over the past year, with at least 287 incidents of theft and vandalism recorded across four high-risk districts. Bannu alone accounted for nearly two-thirds of the cases.

According to the official documents available with Wealth Pakistan, the incidents were concentrated in Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Turbat and Killa Abdullah districts of Balochistan – the areas identified as particularly vulnerable to repeated attacks on telecom infrastructure.

Bannu recorded 178 cases, followed by Lakki Marwat with 100 cases, Turbat with eight cases, and Killa Abdullah with one case.

Among the telecom operators, Zong reported the highest number of incidents, with 177 cases, while Jazz reported 110. The documents state that Ufone and Telenor did not report any theft or vandalism incidents in these districts during the reference period.

Despite 287 documented incidents, only 98 cases were officially reported, revealing a substantial gap in formal registration. The documents estimate that around 34% of the total cases were reported.

A breakdown of the reported incidents shows that fuel theft emerged as the single largest category, accounting for 114 cases. Power theft was the second most common, with 56 incidents, reflecting the continuing challenge of protecting backup power systems installed at telecom sites.

The records further show 10 incidents involving theft of telecom assets or equipment and nine cases linked to vandalism or militant attacks. Another 98 incidents were categorized as minor miscellaneous cases.

Jazz reported seven cases of equipment theft, five cases of vandalism or militant attacks, and 98 minor miscellaneous cases. Zong, on the other hand, reported three cases of equipment theft, 114 of fuel theft, 56 of power theft, and nine cases of vandalism or militant attacks.

The documents also highlight the concerns raised by telecom operators regarding the reporting process. According to the operators, certain incidents were not registered by the local administration, a factor that may have contributed to the gap between actual incidents and officially reported cases.

Chronic infrastructure targeting drains telecom resources through compounding maintenance costs and non-stop site restorations. Multiple districts face a cyclical vandalism problem, with high-risk locations hit repeatedly within a single twelve-month period.

The data illustrate that theft of fuel and power-related equipment remains a major threat to telecom operations in vulnerable areas, while the low proportion of officially reported cases may complicate efforts to accurately assess the scale of the problem and strengthen preventive measures.

Credit: INP-WealthPk