PESHAWAR: The current year remained the worst in the last 15 years in terms of terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as 636 incidents have been reported so far, surpassing 631 attacks during last year.
As per the statistics of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), 636 incidents have been reported so far in different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly southern districts.This is the highest number since 2009 when 728 incidents were reported.
An All-Parties Conference at the KP Governor’s House a day earlier had expressed concern over the worst law and order situation in the province and asked the federal and provincial government to take early and solid measures to pave the way for durable peace.The number of attacks in KP had dropped for many years and less than 100 incidents were reported from all over KP in 2018.
However, the increase in attacks started in 2021 as over 270 incidents were reported. And a trend of increase in attacks on police was also witnessed since then. During the current year, 142 policemen have been martyred while 214 were injured in incidents of terrorism in KP. The number of casualties of civilians remained at 133, while 246 others were wounded.
Out of the 636 attacks, 355 incidents are that of firing on police, the security forces and other individuals with automatic weapons. Besides, six suicide attacks and 113 blasts of improvised explosive devices were also reported during 2024.
Dera Ismail Khan, the hometown of the governor and chief minister of the province, as well as Tank and North Waziristan, witnessed the highest number of terrorist incidents, followed by Lakki Marwat, Bannu and Bajaur. As per the CTD report, 2981 intelligence-based operations were conducted during the year.
Also, it added, that a total of 739 terrorists, including 29 most wanted, were arrested. As many as 246 militants were killed this year, the report stated. During the operations, 849 kilograms of explosives,162 hand grenades, seven suicide jackets and 162 different types of weapons were also recovered during actions against terrorists.