Police attacked 159 times in KP this year

PESHAWAR: Over 159 attacks were carried out on police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the current year as two more cops were martyred in Bannu on Wednesday.

In the latest attack on the New Sabzi Mandi Police Checkpost in Bannu, two policemen were martyred, while police officials say many attackers were also believed to be either killed or wounded.

As per the official record of the KP police, 14 police stations and 32 police posts have come under attack in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa till mid-May 2025. These included attacks with automatic weapons, grenades and other explosives.

Police parties, including patrolling cars, were ambushed on 57 occasions. Also, police personnel were targeted on 56 occasions in different parts of KP during the current year. As many as 50 policemen were martyred in these attacks, while 61 sustained injuries. Despite frequent attacks on police, 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.

Some of the posts and police stations are in such remote areas that no reinforcement can reach there timely and these need to be protected from all sides to fight attacks.Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed on Tuesday visited some of the police posts and stations in southern districts that needed more facilities, including the latest gadgets, automatic weapons and protected buildings.

Also, the cops performing duties in the troubled districts and other volatile areas have no additional incentives like other provinces. Cops in some volatile districts and police stations need to be encouraged with extra allowances. The province is facing the worst law and order situation since mid-2021. The attacks have 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 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 the Karak district. The police posts and establishments also need to be strengthened in Peshawar, Khyber, Bajaur, Mohmand, Swat, Buner, and many other towns that have witnessed attacks recently.