KP witnesses 245 terror attacks this year

PESHAWAR: As many as 245 terrorist attacks were reported across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the current year, as the province is facing the worst wave of terrorism in the last couple of years.

The attacks in KP during the current year claimed the lives of 41 policemen, 66 law enforcement agencies’ personnel and 58 civilians. Around 150 Law Enforcement Agencies personnel, 148 civilians and 49 policemen were also wounded in these attacks reported till April 17.

A senior officer at the Central Police Office said aggressive police actions were underway in southern districts and other parts of KP daily, due to which the situation improved in the last three weeks and the number of attacks dropped.

According to the official, 47 attacks were reported on police and LEA’s posts, offices, vehicles, police stations and individuals only during 48 hours during Ramazan. He said many of the attackers, including militant commanders, were gunned down when police started aggressive actions.

During the current year, the worst-hit area was North Waziristan district, which witnessed 52 attacks, followed by 28 attacks in Bannu, 26 in Dera Ismail Khan and 24 in Lakki Marwat. Besides, 17 attacks were reported in Khyber, 14 in Tank, 13 each in Peshawar and Bajaur, 10 in South Waziristan, nine in Kurram and eight attacks were reported in Karak, as per the official document.

The document revealed that 732 attacks were reported in KP in 2024 and 651 attacks happened in 2023. The number of attacks during the two years is the highest after the situation in 2009 and 2010.

One of the shocking aspects is that despite frequent attacks, there are many security posts, police stations and even police lines in different parts of the province that have no boundary walls or other arrangements to protect the cops in case of attacks. Also, the cops fighting the war in the troubled districts and other volatile areas have no additional incentives like other provinces.

The law and order situation in KP started deteriorating since mid-2021 after mostly peace prevailed in the province for many years. The attacks have further increased since 2023. Even the police headquarters of the provincial capital came under attack when a suicide bomber detonated explosives around his vest at the central mosque of the police lines in January 2023. Over 86 policemen were martyred and over 200 were wounded in the biggest attack on the force.

Apart from incidents in Peshawar, Khyber and Bajaur, most of the incidents in the last few years were reported in the southern districts of KP. Two entire divisions in the south, Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu, are volatile for the last many years.

The Kohat division was relatively peaceful before the situation deteriorated in its Kurram district in November last year and then incidents were reported in Karak. Both the top government functionaries in KP, the governor and chief minister, belong to the Dera Ismail Khan district in southern KP, which has been hit hard by terrorism for the last few years. Apart from police and law enforcement agencies personnel, religious scholars, politicians and other high-profile individuals remained the target of attacks in KP in the last few years.