PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police claimed on Saturday that the first seven months of the current year had been most peaceful in a decade.

A police statement issued here said incidents of terrorism, kidnapping for ransom and targeted killings were the lowest in over a decade.

It said the year 2009 saw the highest number of incidents of terrorism as a total of 927 cases were registered, while in 2016, 274 incidents of terrorism took place; however, during first seven months of the current year, only 90 incidents of terrorism took place, which was 70 per cent less than the year 2009.

During the current year, only six incidents of kidnapping took place, down from 16 in 2016 and 178 in 2009. The decrease is about 97 per cent compared to 2009. Targeted killings have also touched the lowest ebb in over a decade with 21 incidents across the province, down from 72 incidents last year.

The police statement said 2013 witnessed highest number of targeted killings and a total of 643 cases were reported during the year.

Incidents of extortion which peaked at 344 in 2014 came down to 18 during the current year, a drop of 96 per cent. Forty-four incidents of extortion were reported, last year.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2017