KOHAT/MIRANSHAH:
A renewed wave of terrorist violence is sweeping Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, with police and other law enforcement agencies increasingly coming under attack. The rise in terrorism coincides with escalating tensions with Afghanistan, where the Russian Foreign Ministry warned Tuesday that thousands of terrorists remain active.
In the latest violence, at least seven people, including a senior police officer, were martyred in an ambush on a police patrol in Kohat district, while a police officer was killed in a gun attack in South Waziristan.
Tuesday’s attacks came a day after three federal police personnel were martyred and three first responders injured in Karak district, where terrorists attacked two ambulances carrying law enforcement officers injured in an earlier quadcopter attack on an FC fort in the area.
The official said the terrorists attacked a police van on Shakardara Road in Kohat, resulting in the martyrdom of DSP Asad Mahmood and six others. The attackers set fire to the vehicle and burned an injured police officer alive. Among the seven martyrs were five police officers, a suspect in custody and a civilian bystander. Among the injured are three police officers and a prisoner.
The martyred officers were identified as SDPO Lachi Asad Mahmood and reader Wahab Ali, who were burnt alive, while Driver Mudassar, FC official Syed Amir Abbas, sub-inspector Anar Gul, detainee Yousaf Khan and passerby Samiullah were killed in the terrorists’ firing. Among the injured were DSP gunman Aqab Hussain, Mohib-ur-Rehman, Ahmed Abbas and a detainee identified as Zahoor.
According to Kohat District Police Officer (DPO), the incident occurred when a police team was transporting a suspect in custody and was attacked in the suburban area along Shakardara Road. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital, while security forces cordoned off the area and launched an investigation.
Policeman martyred in Wana
In a separate incident reported in Wana, the main town of Lower South Waziristan, a police constable was martyred after terrorists opened fire in Maghel Khel village area.
Lower South Waziristan District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Tahir Shah Wazir confirmed the targeted attack and identified the martyr as Constable Ataullah. The body was shifted to Wana District Central Hospital for legal formalities and autopsy.
Police said security in the area had been tightened after the attack and investigations were underway. DPO Wazir stated that efforts were being made to identify and arrest those involved and the responsible elements would be brought to justice at all costs.
The incident comes at a time when the security situation has deteriorated over the past year in Lower South Waziristan, Upper South Waziristan and North Waziristan. According to local tribesmen, incidents of bomb blasts, targeted killings, kidnappings for ransom, extortion and attacks on police and security checkpoints have increased in these districts.
The worsening law and order situation has led to growing concern among the local population, with tribals expressing fear for the safety of their lives and property. Traders and members of the business community say that business activities have also been negatively affected due to the prevailing uncertainty.
Local elders have demanded effective and sustained measures to restore lasting peace and stability in the region so that normal life can resume.
Condemnations rain down
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the ‘Fitna al Khwarij’ terrorist attack in Kohat.
The President and Prime Minister paid tribute to DSP Asad Mahmood and other staff who embraced martyrdom. They also expressed their condolences and solidarity with the bereaved families of the martyr DSP and other martyrs.
The president said that the martyred personnel had made enormous sacrifices for the country.
He further reiterated that the cancer of terrorism, perpetrated under foreign patronage, was being eradicated from the country, the press wing of the Presidential Secretariat said in a press release. “The menace of terrorism will be eradicated from the country,” the prime minister said in a press release, quoted by the media wing of the prime minister’s office.
