PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police have been put on high alert following attacks on police stations and outposts in various districts of the province for the past several days.
The latest attack was carried out on a security post in the Sarband police station limits of the provincial capital in the early hours of Wednesday. However, no casualty was reported in the heavy weapons attack on the police post near the borders of Khyber district.
After the attack, police officials reached the spot and started a search operation. Police outposts in Sarband limits have been attacked for the third time in the last five days.
Several police stations, outposts and patrol parties in KP have been attacked with grenades, IEDs and automatic weapons in recent months.
The police have been put on high alert following the major attacks in Lakki Marwat and Wana in South Waziristan, as well as the incident at the Counter-Terrorism Department office in Bannu. The building was cleared in a military operation on the third day after the militants seized it.
Measures were also taken to protect police officers from snipers with night vision thermal goggles. Apart from this, patrolling and checking has been increased in the cities.
Inspector General of Police Moazzam Jah Ansari along with Capital City Police Officer Mohammad Ijaz visited various police stations to inspect security arrangements and vigilance level.
The police chief directed the police personnel that as a precautionary measure every officer is wearing bullet proof jackets and helmets. This year, more than 120 police personnel were martyred and more than 125 injured in various attacks on the force in KPK. In the last few weeks, attacks have increased across the province.
The law and order situation in KP has gone south over the past few weeks as threats and attacks on security forces and top political figures have increased.
“Apart from the police, senior politicians have complained of receiving threats. Some of their houses have also come under grenade attack,” a source told the publication.
