JAMMU: Nine policemen, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), identified as Diyar Khan, and two Assistant Sub Inspectors (ASIs) were killed and 28 others were injured in an attack by armed Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) men. The attack was carried out on the Khazina Banda check post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu district late on July 29. The condition of some of the injured policemen is critical, and the toll is likely to go up.
Earlier in the day, a policeman and four members of a Village Defence Committee (VDC) were killed while six rebels belonging to TTP were killed during a joint security operation in the mountainous areas of Kabal and Matta tehsils. A police party and members of the VDC were together in this operation in which the TTP men turned the tables on the raiding party.
On July 6 in a major incident, 27 policemen were killed in an attack on a police post in Balochistan’s Ziarat district. Nine police personnel were killed on the spot, while 18 others were killed by the TTP men after being kidnapped and taken away.
A statement issued by KP Inspector General (IG) Zulfiqar Hameed said that the checkpost was attacked by Fitna Al Khawarij (FAK), a term the state uses for men belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
He said that the police personnel responded bravely, while additional personnel were also dispatched. However, the TTP men ambushed the contingent, due to which an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) was damaged. The IG said that despite these challenges, the personnel fought with bravery and professionalism.
“At least 15 kharji were killed while multiple others were injured due to the police’s response,” he said. The IG added that during the intense and long exchange of fire, nine cops, including DSP Diyar Khan, were martyred while 28 others were injured.
The IG asserted that KP police’s morale and resolve were strong, adding that the battle to wipe out terrorists from every corner of the province would continue.
A senior police official also confirmed the number of casualties. He said that an exchange of fire broke out after the TTP men attacked the check post.
Separately, a police check post in Adezai area, within the jurisdiction of the Mattani police station in Peshawar, was also attacked by the TTP men late on Wednesday night. “Rebels fired at the post but cops responded, prompting the former to escape,” a senior police official said, adding that all the policemen present in the post escaped unhurt.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the attack on the check post in Hangu. He offered his condolences to the families of the martyred officials and prayed for the recovery of the injured.
A monthly security assessment released in early June by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) had said that after two consecutive months of improvement, Pakistan’s security situation deteriorated sharply in May. This deterioration was driven primarily by escalating terrorist violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Incidentally, due to escalating violence in these two provinces, Pakistan is now on top in the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) which is issued on yearly basis.
