PESHAWAR, Oct 18: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police have time and again expressed the resolve to develop policepublic liaison to get people`s support for restoration of peace and curbing militancy in the province, but they have not taken any serious steps in this regard so far.

Provincial police officer Nasir Khan Durrani soon after assuming charge of his officehad also said that police alone could not control the lawlessness and stressed the need for police-public cooperation to restore peace.

Some recent incidents like suicide bombing at a church, blast inside a bus on Charsadda Road, car bomb blast at Qissa Khwani and attacks on anti-polio vaccinators have panicked the people.

Though the overall situation had improved a bit in early 2013, after the All Parties Conference in September at Islamabad the law and order situation deteriorated again.

Unfortunately, the police also failed to take drastic steps for restoration of peace.

Besides blasts, cases pertaining to kidnapping for ransom and extortion from well-off people in different areas of the province also increased.

The IGP is of the view that the main problem for police in controlling crimes is the closeness of tribal regions to Peshawar as the outlaws easily toward tribal area after committing crime.

The new IGP, however, could improve the situation by getting full introduction of officials working under him to know about their capacity and sincerity with profession.

Another important thing relates to the record of officials who served at the same station for many times and still wish to occupy the seats. Any official serving at the same seat for several turns and still unaware of the presence of militants` dens or outlaws in his area must be transferred to other districts.

A chat with some of the officials in different circles in Peshawar revealed that police had so far not devised any planfor availing support of the community against militants and other outlaws.

During the previous government some gaumi lashkars (armed anti-Taliban peace bodies) had been formed in different union councils, mainly in rural areas, but with the passage of time these bodies were virtually abandoned.

The peace volunteers had paid a heavy price by losing relatives and some of the main commanders in targeted attacks and bomb blasts.

Apparently, these peace bodies had played a vital role in support of police. The volunteers had taken up arms after assurance by the police highups that they would get ration, arms and ammunitions, but later they were virtually abandoned.

`We have received no proper policy to get support of public. We have contacts with people and also have our informers, but peace bodies are also effective because they offer direct support to police whenever called,` a station house officer said.

The official said that in past the militants remained confined to rural areas, but now they had also established dens in urban localities. He said that bomb blasts were not possible without proper network and exact information about the target. He said that intelligence agencies could bust the criminals` networks through improved work.

Head of Adezai Qaumi Lashkar Fazal Malik, when contacted, said that police had not contacted him about any new policy, but his volunteers were active against terrorists in his area.