KP witnesses poor law & order

PESHAWAR: As the government is busy dealing with many other issues, the law and order in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some other districts of the province has worsened, prompting government employees to restrict their movement.

Districts in the Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu divisions witnessed the highest number of terror incidents in the last couple of years, including attacks on the posts and vehicles of police and other forces.

Besides the two divisions, attacks have taken place in other districts of the province in recent weeks.

A number of incidents of kidnapping of government officials and attacks on their families were reported in recent months.

On Tuesday, two cops were martyred when they were attacked while guarding polio vaccination teams in Orakzai district. Another attack was thwarted in Kohat.

Also, a cop deployed outside a hospital was martyred in Tank and a polio team was attacked and harassed in North Waziristan.

Before that 10 soldiers of Frontier Constabulary, a station house officer, and a cadet of the Pakistan Military Academy were martyred in terrorist attacks in Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan divisions.

Four policemen, two army soldiers and two civilians were martyred in a suicide attack in North Waziristan. All these attacks have happened in southern KP within less than a week.

The situation in the south has worsened to the extent that the Home Department and recently the district administration issued security advisories for the officers and other government employees who are living, serving or traveling to these districts. The government officials were instructed to avoid unnecessary travel and take precautions while moving within these districts.

On the other hand, the Peshawar High court has been moved against the worsening law and order.

The Peshawar Bar Council filed a petition in the high court against the worsening law and order in KP, particularly southern districts.

The petition named the provincial government, inspector general of police KP, chief secretary and the Ministry of Interior as respondents. The petition highlighted the poor security situation in the southern districts.

It mentioned recent attacks on judicial officers, adding that deteriorating law and order has led to the transfer of courts from Tank and Waziristan to Dera Ismail Khan. The petitioner highlighted the law and order in Kurram and other towns, saying the provincial government had failed to take effective measures.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi expressed concern over the worsening law and order in KP.

The governor KP as well as Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Inspector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Khan all belong to Dera Ismail Khan, the district and division that has come under attack frequently in the last couple of years. They should at least do their best to ensure peace in their hometown.

The provincial government has held many meetings about the law and order and announced measures including providing weapons, ammunition, bulletproof jackets and vehicles, modern gadgets as well as recruiting more policemen along with strengthening their posts and police stations to better fight terrorists.

Amendments to the Police Act 2017 were approved recently for keeping a better check on the force and strengthening the chief minister instead of IGP in various administrative affairs of the force. The aim, according to the government, was to improve the performance of police through democratic checks. However, the law and order has yet to see any improvement. Police in Lakki Marwat and Bannu had to take to streets to protest the increasing attacks on the cops, their families, police stations, posts and vehicles.

Apart from the southern belt, a number of attacks have recently happened on the outskirts of Peshawar.

Though the incidents were small and did not cause any serious casualty, police posts have come under attack in Regi, Nasir Bagh, Mathra, Matani and other areas frequently in the recent months.

An IED blast in Swat recently resulted into the martyrdom of a constable deployed in the security convoy of foreign diplomats visiting the scenic valley. Terror incidents also occurred in Khyber, Bajaur, Mohmand, Mardan and some other districts in recent months.

The situation needs joint and solid efforts by the provincial and federal governments, security forces, police and all concerned to ensure peace and stop the attacks.