Over 460 militants rounded up during current year: police

PESHAWAR: More than 460 militants were rounded up in the current year in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one of the highest figures during the last several years, police officials said on Thursday.

A report compiled by the Central Police Office, Peshawar, claimed that 95 terrorist bids were thwarted during the current year and the 179 attackers were arrested. The terrorists who were captured included many with a huge amount as head-money.

The statistics compiled by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police showed that terrorist attacks were further reduced by 51percent during the current year as compared to last year. It meant that 2017 was a more peaceful year in the province in the last over a decade.

According to the statistics, 258 incidents of terrorism were reported in 2016 while the figure has gone down to 126 till December 13. “Only two major terrorist attacks were reported during the current year. There was the attack on Agriculture Training Institute and another on a court in Charsadda. The police and army did well to bring down the casualties and damage,” Inspector General of Police Salahuddin Khan Mahsud told reporters during an informal gathering.

Capital City Police Officer Mohammad Tahir, DIG CTD Mubarak Zeb , DIG Shahzad Aslam, SSP Operations Sajjad Khan, DG Public Relations SSP Zahidullah Khan, Ali Akbar Shah and Waseem Khalil were also present on the occasion.

The KP Police chief added that an additional IG, an army major and vehicle of judges were also targetted by the terrorists during the current year. He pointed out that these incidents are the lowest during the current year compared with the past. “The police force ensured better security arrangements during the year and also acted promptly after any attack,” he maintained.

The IGP said that due to the efforts of the police and security agencies the number of terrorist incidents and the crime rate in KP was the lowest compared to the past. He pointed out that extortion incidents have also been reduced by 27percent during the current year compared to 2016.

The statistics released by the Media Cell of the KP Police showed that more than 12,000 search operations and over 1,000 intelligence-based operations were carried out in KP during 2017 in which around 380,000 houses were checked and 76,000 suspects held.

The statistics claimed that kidnapping for ransom was reduced by eight percent, murders by seven percent, and car-lifting and snatching by 12 percent during the current year. The statistics showed that over 6,500 complaints were received against the police through the Police Access Service and prompt action was taken. Besides, the Dispute Resolution Councils settled over 5,030 issues between two or more parties through the alternative dispute resolution.