K-P law and order: Terror may be vanquished, but old monsters remain

More than 2,400 people were murdered in 2019 and over 1,600 cases of violence against women were reported

PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa may have overcome the spectre of terrorism for the part over the last decade but its struggle with crime went on unabated in 2019.

A total of 2,453 people were murdered over the year, 422 of them in Peshawar alone. In contrast, 381 people were killed in the provincial capital in the year prior. “Most of these killings were over personal disputes, such as property,” said Peshawar SSP Operations Zahoor Afridi. “In the outskirts of Peshawar especially, people were killed due to personal enmity. However, we have arrested 90 per cent of those suspected of involvement in these murders and have registered cases against them.”

The year 2019 was especially bad for women when it comes to killings and other forms of violence against them. A shocking 217 women were killed across the province, while 1,384 cases of other forms of violence were recorded as well. As many as 738 women were kidnapped for ransom all over K-P and an alarming 177 rape incidents were reported, according to police data. Overall, violence against women rose by 24 per cent as compared to the previous year.

While the activities of government and non-government bodies working for women were restricted to meetings, K-P Assembly Standing Committee on Women’s Development failed to play a productive role “The alarming statistics show that we did not do as much as we should have to safeguard women,” admitted MPA Momina Basit, who heads the provincial assembly’s committee on women’s development. “This year, we would do our level best to active Women’s Commission centres across the province and raise our voice against honour killings in the provincial assembly.”

Representational Image: PHOTO: FILE

Looking at other crimes, the year 2019 also saw 226 incidents of vehicle theft, 1,775 incidents of robbery and petty theft and 6,277 incidents of aerial firing, police data revealed.

When it came to terrorism, however, the last year was the most peaceful one from the entire decade for K-P. Throughout the year, 79 major terrorist incidents occurred in the province, including an attack on the convoy of Justice Ayub Khan in Hayatabad on February 28. The judge survived the incident and suffered only minor injuries.

A major operation was carried out in Hayatabad area of Peshawar on April 16. Following a 17-hour confrontation, five suspected terrorists were killed and one policeman was martyred. During the year, 21 terrorists from the Bali Khaira group were found involved in an attack on police and security forces in K-P and Punjab and were killed in a joint operation.

December saw a very slight uptick, as terrorists detonated a rickshaw outside the Peshawar High Court, injuring 11 people, on the 16th and killed two policemen in Lower Dir two days later. A suicide attack was thwarted on December 19, after the suspected attacker was killed.

“K-P police successfully carried out anti-terror actions in DI Khan and Buner,” said K-P inspector general police Naeem Khan. “Our focus now will be to raise awareness to prevent other crimes, particularly those targeting women. It is imperative to ensure public cooperation if we are to build a peaceful society,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2020.