AWAY from the spotlight, police officers in KP are paying a high

price in the fight against terrorism. As reported in this paper on

Tuesday, around 125 policemen were martyred in the province in
the first quarter of the year, as per police data. Over 200 law
enforcers have suffered injuries in militant attacks. January was
the deadliest month for policemen, as 116 police officers were
martyred in 15 terrorist attacks; the bloodiest of these, of course,
was the devastating Jan 30 bombing of the Peshawar Police Lines
mosque, in which over 80 personnel lost their lives. However,
while the figure for deaths came down in February and March, the
number of policemen who lost their lives in attacks during these
two months was still considerable. The fact is that while the
frequency of high-profile, high-casualty attacks may indeed have
come down since the beginning of the year, terrorists continue to
target teams of law enforcers with alarming frequency, resulting in
deaths and injuries every few days. Police officials are of the view
that intelligence-based operations, and active pursuit of militants,
resulted in few casualties in the last two months.

However, even though the number of major attacks has come down, it does
not mean that the banned TTP and other malign actors no longer pose a threat
to national security. For example, as some think tanks have observed, the
number of casualties, including among civilians, remains high in KP and
Balochistan. As intel operations seem to be working, they need to be continued
so that terrorists are unable to target civilians or security personnel.
Moreover, the police, particularly in KP’s tribal districts and bordering
regions, need to be given the equipment and funds required to vanquish the
terrorist threat, and prevent militants from reorganising and regrouping. In
order to keep the country safe and the militant threat at bay, police personnel
and military jawans have been paying a heavy price. They must be provided
with gear and training that can minimise the threat of deadly injuries. Also,
the families of fallen policemen and other security personnel must be looked
after by the state, while those who have suffered grave injuries, including
crippling ones in many cases, should be provided adequate medical care and
receive support if they have been incapacitated in the line of duty.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2023