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.