KP IG says 88 terrorists 'killed' in various anti-terror operations since Jan 2024

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akhtar Hayat Khan Thursday said that 88 terrorists have been killed in various anti-terror operations since January 1, 2024.

The KP IG, in an interview to Geo News, said several among those neutralised in the operations included high-value targets, while numerous militants have also been apprehended.

IG Khan's statement comes at a time when KP and the country's southwestern province, Balochistan, continue to remain under attack by terrorists, leaving citizens vulnerable to security threats in recent months.

Stressing that the law and order situation has improved in Dera Ismail Khan and the merged districts of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), the KP police chief said that the militants will continue to be pursued via intelligence-based operations (IBOs).

On the sacrifices rendered by the police in the fight against terrorism, the officer said that 41 police personnel have embraced martyrdom in the ongoing year as part of the police force's fight against terrorism.

"The security of foreigners has been improved," he said while addressing the issue of security threats faced by foreign nationals in the province that also saw five Chinese citizens, including a woman, being killed in a suicide attack in Shangla's Besham city last month.

Since the start of this year, both KP and Balochistan have accounted for over 92% of all fatalities and 86% of attacks — including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations — during the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.

These numbers were quoted in the Q1 2024 Security Report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).

As per the report, Pakistan witnessed 432 violence-linked fatalities and 370 injuries among civilians, security personnel and outlaws resulting from as many as 245 incidents of terror attacks and counter-terror operations. This includes 281 fatalities among civilians and security forces personnel.

Individually, KP suffered 51% and Balochistan 41% of all fatalities in Q1, 2024. The data indicated that the remaining regions were relatively peaceful, suffering less than 8% of all fatalities.