Peshawar, May 18: Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has witnessed 284 terrorist incidents so far in 2025, according to an official report on Sunday.
The northwestern province remained one of the hardest hit in the country by militancy.
A report by the Counter-Terrorism Department said that of the 284 incidents, the highest number — 53 — was recorded in North Waziristan district, followed by Bannu (35), Dera Ismail Khan (31), Peshawar (13), and Kurram (8). The report also said that 148 terrorists have been killed across the province so far this year, with the highest number — 67 — reported in Dera Ismail Khan, the home district of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
As many as 1,116 suspects have been named in terrorism-related cases across the province, of which 95 have been arrested so far.
In 2024, 732 attacks were reported in the province, up from 651 in 2023. This marked the highest number of attacks since 2009 and 2010.
The law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa started deteriorating in mid-2021, and attacks have further increased since 2023.
Even the police headquarters of the provincial capital came under attack when a suicide bomber detonated explosives at the central mosque of the police lines in January 2023.
Over 86 policemen were killed and over 200 were wounded in the biggest attack on the force. In recent years, not only police and law enforcement personnel but also religious scholars, politicians, and other high-profile individuals have been targeted in attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (PTI)
