TTP, AQ, ISK threat surges to highest in a decade: KP police

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has witnessed an alarming spike in terrorist incidents, registering an astounding 800 per cent increase over the past five years, according to an official report available with HUM News English.

In the last seven months alone, the province experienced 663 terrorist-related incidents. “This has given rise to concerns regarding the mounting threat of terrorism within the region,” the report says.

Alarmingly, about 70 percent of these strikes are directly targeted at the police force according to the report that further highlights that the vulnerability is accentuated during patrolling or when the policemen are statically deployed at checkposts.

In the last seven months alone, the province experienced 663 terrorist-related incidents

It maintains that dangerous terrorist networks have established a presence across six major cities, with at least 700 militants actively involved in it. The report underscores that 2023 has seen a total of 782 terror attacks, in districts including North and South Waziristan, DI Khan and Peshawar.

“The volatile situation has further been compounded by the presence of over 220 militants associated with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamic State Khorasan (ISK) and other proscribed organisations in the DI Khan area.

“Notable terror cells of ISK Province and Al-Qaeda (AQ) have also been identified, with over 310 militants operating in Bannu, Peshawar, and Tank,” it notes.

Security forces conducted 1,152 operations that resulted in the killing or capture of 494 militants

As per the data in the report, the past two years have witnessed 20 attacks carried out by these organisations with international tentacles, serving as a grim reminder of the ongoing security challenges faced by the province. In response, it says, security forces conducted 1,152 operations that resulted in the killing or capture of 494 militants.

In 2018, 87 terrorist incidents were recorded in the province, a significant increase from the previous year’s 495 incidents.

The report said that the year 2014 saw 316 terrorist incidents, while the province experienced a total of 2,650 incidents over the past one decade.

The report said that the escalating threat has prompted the establishment of an Anti-Terrorism Financing Unit, aimed at monitoring and disrupting the financial assistance extended to militant groups.

But officials in KP police maintain that lack of funds in such a critical situation is making life harder for the force that is acting as the frontline against militancy across the provice. “The infrastructure supporting the police is in a lamentable condition with certain police stations so under-equipped that they lack even rudimentary security features, including boundary walls,” according to them.

“To address these pressing challenges and reduce the prevalence of criminal acts, a city-wide implementation of comprehensive CCTV coverage is imperative,” the report states among other suggestions.