KP Diary of worsening law and order in southern belt

PESHAWAR: As the police have been struggling to improve law and order in Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu divisions for the last couple of years, Kurram district in the southern belt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has turned into a troubled spot in recent months.

Kohat, one of the three divisions in southern KP, was relatively peaceful before the situation deteriorated in its Kurram district after an attack on a convoy in November last year where several civilians were martyred.

Actions are underway in Kurram to restore peace in the district. The situation in the district had worsened to the extent that apart from other incidents, the deputy commissioner of the area also came under attack along with his guards who sustained injuries. Also, the government had to transport medicines and other necessities to the people via helicopters due to the poor law and order.

Before Kurram, the situation in the two other divisions in the south, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan, had worsened over the last couple of years. Despite claims by the government and police that several measures were taken during the last few years to improve law and order across KP, particularly in the southern districts, the situation remained the same.

The overall law and order in KP can be gauged from the fact that around 670 terrorism incidents were reported during 2024 which was highest in the last 15 years.Only in 2009, 728 incidents were reported in KP after which the situation gradually improved till the start of the current wave of terrorism in mid-2021.

Dera Ismail Khan district has witnessed the highest number of terrorism incidents, 121in 2024, followed by 116 incidents in Bannu and 80 in Khyber district in Peshawar division.In the year 2024, as many as 149 policemen were martyred in different districts of the province while 232 others sustained injuries.

Peshawar witnessed the worst attack on its police headquarters when an alleged suicide bomber detonated explosives around his vest at the central mosque of the police lines in January 2023.

Over 86 people, mostly cops were martyred while over 200 sustained injuries in the biggest attack on any police headquarters.Police offices in many other districts, especially in southern towns, also came under attack on many occasions in the last few years but the number of casualties was not as high.

The province’s political leadership, including incumbent Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, on a number of occasions expressed concern over worsening law and order in KP for the last few years, stressing the need for joint and solid efforts by the federal and provincial governments, police, and security forces to improve the situation.

Kundi’s hometown, Dera Ismail Khan, has witnessed the highest number of attacks during the current wave of terrorism.The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly as well as the recently held all-parties conference have expressed concern over the poor law and order in the province on several occasions.

According to the official figures of the KP Police, 270 terrorists were killed while 802 others were arrested in encounters with police and security agencies as actions were going on for improving law and order.

The figures stated those killed and arrested included many who were carrying huge amounts as head money, including the top commanders in Peshawar, Mardan and other districts.Apart from intelligence-based actions against terrorists, police officials said 12,601 search and strike operations were conducted under the National Action Plan, and 67,983 suspects were arrested, it added.

Besides, 81,433 snap-checking points were set up in which 102,952 suspects were arrested while 24,566 weapons of different bores and 552,837 cartridges were recovered.Solid and durable efforts are needed to improve law and order in the province, particularly the southern districts. Apart from the police and provincial government, security forces and federal government need to make all-out efforts for restoration of peace in the troubled areas.