ISLAMABAD: Federal Cabinet Committee Meeting on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s deteriorating security situation, rising terrorist attacks and governance challenges began on Sunday with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair.
Two special security reports were expected to be presented at the meeting highlighting major gaps in the province’s counterterrorism preparedness. According to the reports, terrorist incidents in KP increased by 195% between March 1, 2024, and September 23, 2026, while police and security agencies continued to face serious shortages of personnel, equipment and operational resources.
The reports also highlighted a growing use of drones by terrorists. While no drone attacks on police and security forces were reported in 2024, the number of such attacks reportedly reached 170 in 2026. The reports further stated that 73% of terrorist attacks recorded during 2026 targeted police and security agencies.
The growing use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) was another major concern. According to the reports, IED attacks increased to 181 in 2025, while 159 incidents were recorded up to September 2026. The security assessments also pointed to significant weaknesses in the province’s law enforcement capacity.
More than 9,000 posts in the KP Police were reportedly vacant, while the police and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) faced shortages of modern weapons, operational equipment and surveillance technology. The reports further highlighted a lack of armoured vehicles in the terrorism-hit southern districts, affecting police mobility and operational capacity. Shortages of night-vision and thermal-imaging equipment were also identified as major challenges.
The Safe City project, initially intended to improve security monitoring, remained limited to Peshawar, while police in the merged districts faced shortages of training, resources and operational capacity, according to the assessments. The CTD was also reported to be facing a serious shortage of specially trained personnel and inadequate district offices and operational facilities.
The reports attributed the worsening security situation to multiple factors, including militant networks operating from Afghanistan, local facilitators and weaknesses in provincial preparedness and counterterrorism measures. These assessments were presented as findings of the security agencies rather than independently established conclusions.
The cabinet committee was expected to examine the security challenges, institutional weaknesses and governance issues, along with measures needed to strengthen law enforcement and counterterrorism operations in the province.
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