THE protest sit-in by hundreds of police personnel in KP’s Lakki Marwat district entered its third day on Wednesday, with no sign of an amicable resolution.

The law enforcers have taken to the streets to protest rising militancy in their district, and surrounding regions. They say they feel vulnerable, and want the counterterrorism drive in the area to be led by them, instead of the military. Police officers from surrounding districts, including Bannu, D.I. Khan and Tank, have joined their protesting colleagues, while political parties, tribesmen and civil society groups have also expressed solidarity with them. Efforts by the local administration to end the impasse have failed, and traffic between this part of KP and the rest of the country has been suspended.

The policemen’s concerns are not without merit. According to figures published recently, KP experienced 29 terrorist attacks in August alone, in which 25 lives were lost. Lakki Marwat and its surrounding districts have been particularly affected by terrorism, with most of those targeted being police personnel, security men and government officials.

Therefore, if policemen have come out on the roads to protest, it shows that the state of law and order in the area is clearly a matter of grave concern. If police morale is low and law enforcers have to publicly air their grievances, it reflects a failure of the administration and the security forces to crush militancy in the affected areas. It is also significant that the local civilians are backing the policemen’s demands.

Unfortunately, the KP administration and security forces seem too consumed with political matters to address the issue of militancy with the seriousness and urgency it deserves. Police personnel are on the front line in the campaign against militancy, and their concerns cannot be dismissed. As the protesting law enforcers have demanded, they should be empowered to deal with terrorist groups.

The fact is that it requires a combined effort involving the police, Counter-Terrorism Department, intelligence agencies and the military to wipe out the terrorist menace before the matter gets out of hand. As they negotiate with the protesting policemen, members of the administration must keep their concerns — as well as those of the local civilians, who pay a high price whenever there are kinetic operations — in mind to evolve a dynamic and effective CT plan.

Both the KP government and security forces must lend a sympathetic ear to these demands, as the province cannot expect a demoralised police force to deal with the militant threat. Let the police lead CT efforts, backed by the military where required, so that terrorist groups are cleared from the areas. And after kinetic operations to uproot terrorist groups, the civilian administration needs to implement the ‘build’ phase successfully.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2024