Countering terrorism in KP still a big challenge

Published March 1, 2015
A motorist undergoes security check in Peshawar. — Dawn
A motorist undergoes security check in Peshawar. — Dawn

Unlike past when terrorists would carry out car bomb blasts or send a suicide bomber to target a place or person, groups of suicide bombers armed with automatic weapons and hand grenades are being sent now for targeted attacks.

The terrorists seem to have changed their strategy. The attacks on the Army Public School (APS) and Imamia Masjid, Hayatabad, in Peshawar have offended the police to a great extent, but still they are unable to work out an effective anti-terror plan in the provincial metropolis.

The militants’ new and frightening strategy is that they set their vehicles on fire soon after they reach the target and carry out their activities with full determination to kill and get killed. They also try to achieve their target of maximum bloodshed within the shortest possible time before the arrival of the law enforcement agencies. Mostly young and energetic bombers are used for the purpose.

The practice of sharing the ‘alert’ text messages by law enforcement agencies in routine has created further unrest among the people who send their children to schools. The police also failed to ensure implementation of the government’s policy regarding deployment of security guards at the buildings and school buses.

Besides, in the past there were many checkpoints on different roads passing through the rural areas of the provincial metropolis and police also availed community support in the shape of ‘qaumi lashkars’. However, with the passage of time the checkpoints were removed and now there is no hurdle for the armed men to enter the sensitive areas in Peshawar, while the anti-Taliban volunteers were also discouraged. A number of anti-Taliban volunteers told Dawn that police had registered cases against them and the incentives were also stopped which forced them to end cooperation with police in case of any attack by militants.

The law enforcement agencies have started checking of the vehicles on the busy city and cantonment roads where long queues can be seen daily, particularly during peak morning and evening hours. This type of checking is of no use because the law enforcers see the identity cards only and one can easily transport explosives, arms and ammunitions anywhere in the district.

The students and employees of various government and private organisations are the worst affected while crossing these checkpoints as no one can reach their destination within the fixed time.

Though during the previous provincial government the number of police force was doubled due to the massive casualties in the fight against terrorism, the situation remained tough and uncertain. No doubt, the police rendered matchless sacrifices and according to their own record over 1,100 personnel, including several high-ranking officers, were killed in the bomb blasts and targeted attacks in parts of the province.

Presently, the number of total police force in the province is stated to be between 65,000 to 70,000, but there is a shortage of experienced and senior officers of the required ranks to lead. Hundreds of the police personnel even officers were suspended or sacked due to their alleged linkages with anti-social elements.

Insiders said that junior rankers were assigned duties even on key posts due to shortage of senior police officers, which had proved counterproductive as they were unable to devise an effective counter-terrorism strategy. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been facing the shortage of at least 60 senior police officers, mainly of the ranks of DIG and SP, to lead the force and overcome the menace of terrorism.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Nasir Khan Durrani himself had time and again pointed out the shortage of officers, but the federal government is yet to pay heed to the deficiency. The federal government is not ready to accept the KP’s request for declaring the province as hard area and thus the number of casualties is increasing with no proper planning to hit hard the militants.

Talking to this correspondent several police officers said that Balochistan had the advantage that the federal government had declared it a hard area and thus it had been made mandatory for the police officers to serve in the province for two years. Several police officers of the DIG rank, including Dr Fasihuddin, Sajid Mohmand, Feroz Shah, Imtiaz Shah, Ashraf Noor, Jaffar Khan, Sadiq Kamal, Waheed Khan, Fateh Khan and Iqbal Khan, have been transferred from KP to Balochistan.

Most of these officers have completed their two-year mandatory service in Balochistan, but they are not transferred to their home province. It was learnt that they had played a key role in restoration of peace in the restive areas of Balochistan like Khuzdar, Saryab and Dera Bugti in addition to imparting training to the police force of the province, but they were yet to get the promised incentives.

The federal government is witness to the growing insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which needs to be declared a hard area. Many of the senior police officers belonging to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are also serving in the FIA, motorway police and National Police Bureau and they can play a vital role in restoration of peace if returned to the province.

The APS and Imamia Masjid attacks should serve as an eye-opener both for the provincial and federal governments and it is need of the hour that appropriate steps should be taken to counter such attacks in future.

The officers always argue that the main reason for the frequent terror attacks is tribal belt around Peshawar and that they have no access to chase the militants in parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Asked about the new wave of targeted attacks through bombers, Peshawar SSP Dr Mian Saeed, who oversees police operations, said that it was insurgency and a continuation of the situation of the past 10 years. He said that the police force was fully determined to secure lives and properties of the people and the sacrifices rendered by the personnel and their officers were a proof of their alertness.

Commenting on the recent terrorism incidents, an anti-Taliban commander Fazal Malik told Dawn that the local police had asked all the volunteers to surrender arms and ammunition as the government wanted to bring an end to the use of weapons. “We requested the police high-ups to stop snatching weapons from us because our volunteers are extremely vulnerable to militant attacks,” he said.

Mr Malik said that the credit went to security forces which controlled the situation in the areas connecting Peshawar and Frontier Regions, adding that last year the militants had made lives of people miserable in the Adezai, Mattani and adjacent localities. He said that his volunteers were still ready to support the law enforcers, but police should avoid teasing them on different pretexts.

Published in Dawn March 1st , 2015

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