Baby steps: Law and order on the mend in K-P, says police report

Internal performance audit reveals a drop in terrorist attacks, civilian casualties in recent 12-month period.

PESHAWAR:

The residents of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had a safer 12 months than they expected; the year before was anything but a prelude to better things to come. Or at least that’s what an annual report of the police department indicates in its comparison of law and order in K-P between July 2012 and June 2013, and July 2013 and June 2014.

The data was collected by the Statistics and Analysis department for an annual performance audit, a feature recently incorporated by IGP Nasir Durrani for internal evaluation.

In contrast to the same twelve-month period between July 2012 and June 2013, there has been a sizeable reduction in terrorist attacks and the consequent loss of lives. However, it is hard to comment on why such a trend emerged, or establish any cause-and-effect relationship, in the absence of a larger analysis of policy and implementation. A more comprehensive version of the report is available with the police for VIP eyes only.



The report states there has been a substantial reduction in improvised explosive device (IED) and vehicle-borne IED (VBIED) blasts as well as suicide attacks, marking an overall decrease in terrorist attacks. For the purpose of this report, terrorist attacks or incidents have been defined as those which were registered under the anti-terrorism act.

The total number of such attacks dropped from 456 in the July 2012-June 2013 period to 401 in the July 2013-June 2014 period, a 12% decrease. A staggering 68% decrease in suicide attacks has brought down the number from 25 to eight.

VBIED blasts have come down to five in the 12-month period which just ended, from seven in the preceding period. Similarly, a 26% decrease in IED blasts was noted in the report – 84 less than the 321 incidents recorded between July 2012 and June 2013.

With fewer attacks, the province lost fewer lives. An 18.4% decline was noted in civilian casualties. At least 380 people died in terrorist attacks in the previous 12-month period in comparison to 310 from July 2013 to June 2013.

Likewise, the number of police personnel who lost their lives also declined 4.6%.

Unfortunately, the same comparison cannot be drawn for army personnel, more of whom died in the July 2013-June 2014 period in terrorist incidents in the province. The primary cause behind the increase is said to be the attack on the army convoy in Bannu in which around 20 soldiers lost their lives.

Shrinking space

While the police death toll this year might be lower, more of them were killed in targeted attacks. Targeted attacks on individuals, including cops, went up from 99 to 129, nearly 30.3% more.

“As the security in Peshawar increased and the police made it harder for terrorists to engage in large-scale acts of violence, targeting police became more of a psychological warfare,” said a police official from the provincial capital. “By targeting us, terrorists try to bring down our morale, turning the screws on us.”

Likewise, he construed, rocket attacks also increased as, at least within the city of Peshawar, security had tightened, making it harder to orchestrate close-range events. “These are artillery rockets, you can launch them from outside the secure parameters of the city,” he added.



The report shared that rocket attacks multiplied by 450% – from four to 22. It goes on to add that the increase in rocket attacks is a manifestation of the desperation felt by militants who, after being denied space and entry into settled areas, are carrying out rocket attacks from adjoining tribal areas.

The upsurge in targeted individuals has been attributed to an increase in attacks on police personnel as majority of cases registered under this head pertain to the targeting of police personnel.

In addition to the reduction in attacks and subsequent casualties, achieved through proactive policing tactics, the report also identified confidence-inspiring improvement in the K-P police operations and investigation wings.

More crackdowns, more convictions

From July 2013 to June 2014, the K-P police were able to successfully repulse 77 terrorist attacks and arrest 260 terrorists. Similarly, 77 “hardened terrorists” were killed in police encounters.

According to those familiar with the matter, Durrani had tasked all provincial SP Investigations with ensuring a high conviction rate for arrested terrorists. In the 12-month period, the provincial police solved 78 cases of extortion in which 145 extortionists were arrested.

Similarly, the police were also able to secure convictions for 109 terrorists.

In addition to making it harder for terrorists and militants to attack their targets, other initiatives have also possibly helped in rein in escalations in law and order. These include intelligence-led search and strike operations, snap checking, use of vehicle verification systems, raising a K-9 unit and employing android-facilitated geotagging for the identification of crime hotspots.

According to a senior official, the K-P police are also in the process of undertaking a number of capacity-building activities and IT-based solutions to make cities safer.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2014.