TANK: Two policemen were killed and two others injured when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was exploded using a remote control targeting a police Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC). The incident happened on the Wana-Jandola road in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district on July 13, District Police Officer (DPO) Abdul Samad said.
According to the Tank Police Reporting Centre, the blast occurred at 1 pm near Masha Jan Bungalow in Grah Hayat village, within the jurisdiction of Shaheed Mureed Akbar Police Station, while the police vehicle was on a routine patrol.
The deceased officers were identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Fareedullah and Constable Akhtar Zaman. The injured officers, Constables Abdul Malik and Qudratullah, were shifted along with the bodies of the deceased to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Tank, according to a report in The Express Tribune.
For patrolling the areas under their jurisdiction, several police stations have been provided Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) vehicles. Patrolling in normal transport vehicles is considered risky in these parts because of the presence of Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) armed rebels. Officially, the TTP are called Fitna Al Khwarij (FAK) as per government instructions issued to newspapers and all media houses.
Initial findings suggested the explosion was caused by a remote-controlled IED, the police said. However, it is not clear yet as to who detonated the IED to target the police vehicle.
Following the attack, police placed the district on high alert and launched a search operation to trace those responsible. Violent incidents of this type have significantly increased in Khyber Pakhtunjhwa as also Balochistan provinces in the past few years. The rise in such activity has led to growing concerns over the security situation in these regions. In response, security forces have been conducting intensive operations to counter the threat, targeting terrorist groups infiltrating from the Afghan border.
The Federal government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been consistently raising its voice on international forums against TTP sanctuaries operating in Afghanistan. The Federal government has been highlighting that the Afghan soil was used to launch attacks on Pakistan, something it has repeatedly made statements about in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
The recent incidents in K-P reflect the continued security challenges faced by the region. On July 3, unidentified attackers carried out two separate acts of sabotage in Bannu district, targeting a government girls’ middle school and a key link bridge.
Explosives planted inside the Government Girls Middle School in Mama Khel damaged parts of the building, cracking classroom walls and shattering windows and doors. There have been several incidents in the past also targeting educational infrastructure meant for girls. In the conservative society of KP, the TTP dictat, both direct and indirect, has been to stop sending the girls to schools or impart any type of education to them.
In a separate incident in Bachki area of Jani Khel, militants planted a drum filled with explosives beneath an important bridge, apparently attempting to disrupt transport links. Security forces and the Bomb Disposal Unit defused the device before it could cause damage.
Earlier, on June 20, at least seven people were killed when a passenger vehicle was targeted in an IED attack in the region. In this incident, seven people were killed and five others were injured in twin blasts in the Phang Musa Khel area with in the jurisdiction of Ahmadzai Police Station in Bannu district.
