- North Waziristan reports highest number of attacks.
- 391 terror suspects named in North Waziristan.
- 148 terrorists killed across KP, 67 in DI Khan.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which remains one of the hardest-hit provinces by militancy, has witnessed 284 terrorist incidents so far this year, The News reported, citing a Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) report.
According to the report, North Waziristan recorded the highest number of incidents at 53, followed by Bannu (35), Dera Ismail Khan (31), Peshawar (13), and Kurram (8).
The CTD further stated that 1,116 suspects have been nominated in terrorism-related cases across the province, including 391 from North Waziristan and 166 from Kurram.
Out of the total suspects, 95 have been arrested so far this year. These include 70 arrests in Kurram and 3 each in Swat and Bannu. The CTD report further reveals that 148 terrorists have been killed across the province this year, with the highest number, 67, killed in Dera Ismail Khan.
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 since 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, have been 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.
