• Nine terrorists killed, two troops martyred in Mohmand, D.I. Khan operations, says ISPR
• Lakki police repulse assaults, gun down militant; Bannu police fend off ambushes
• Police van targeted in Bajaur bazaar, several injured
• Lashkar-i-Islam founder killed in Peshawar blast
PESHAWAR / LAKKI MARWAT / BAJAUR: Two soldiers were martyred while nine terrorists were killed in two engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said on Saturday.
On the other hand, terrorists in Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts targeted police in over half a dozen attacks, which were repulsed by the policemen with the help of armed villagers, who assisted the law enforcers in both districts.
According to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the engagements, in which nine militants were killed, occurred on Friday and Saturday.
In the first encounter, security forces carried out an intelligence-based operation in the Mohmand district during which seven terrorists were killed after troops “effectively engaged” them at their location.
However, the ISPR added that Malakand district’s Havildar Muhammad Zahid, 37, and Chitral district’s Sepoy Aftab Ali Shah, 26, “rendered the ultimate sacrifice” and were martyred during the intense exchange of fire after “having fought gallantly”.
In another encounter that took place in Maddi, Dera Ismail Khan district, troops exchanged fire with terrorists, killing two of them. The ISPR said that weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists, who were involved in numerous terrorist activities.
The ISPR said sanitisation operations were being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area. “Security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country,” it concluded.
Police repulse attacks
Police in Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts repulsed several attacks by terrorists.
“A police post located in Abbasa Khattak area of the Kurrum Par belt, Lakki Marwat district, came under attack at about 8:30am on Saturday,” said a police official, adding that militants used heavy weapons in an attempt to take over the building. The ambush was repulsed as the policemen responded effectively.
The official said that the district police officer led reinforcements from the police lines to the trans-river area, adding that armoured personnel carriers, the Quick Response Force (QRF), and policemen from the nearby police stations were also dispatched to the mountainous terrain to hunt down the assailants. He said that armed villagers also came out of their houses to assist the police. One militant was killed in the shootout.
By the time this report went to press, the operation had been ongoing.
In the same area, a police vehicle was targeted with an improvised explosive device (IED) near Wanda Begu Khan in the limits of Dadiwala police station.
Officials said the driver was injured and other policemen remained unhurt. “The injured driver was immediately transported to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Serai Naurang,” he maintained. A Rescue 1122 official, however, said three policemen were injured in the explosion.
Similarly, police thwarted attempts to breach police stations in the Dadiwala and Dara Pezu areas of Lakki Marwat. The militants launched midnight attacks on both police stations using light and heavy weapons.
Bannu ambushes
Like Lakki Marwat, the Bannu district police also fended off militants on Friday night, as two police stations and a police post were stormed. A police official said that the militants hurled hand grenades at the police station in Ghoriwala and a police post in Khujari.
He said that assailants also opened fire on the police station in the Bakkakhel area, adding that the ambush, followed by other attacks, was repulsed. “In Khujari area, local armed residents helped the police foil the attack and forced the terrorists to flee,” he added.
Bajaur explosion
In Bajaur, a police official was among four people injured in an attack targeting the SHO in Inayat Kallay bazaar. Rescue 1122 and police said the incident occurred just before Iftar when some unidentified armed men started firing at the vehicle of Lowi Sam police station SHO Bacha Rahman, leaving a policeman along with three civilians wounded.
The attack came minutes after SHO Rahman along with his staff reached the bazaar to oversee the security situation, said Israr Khan, a spokesman for the district police. He identified the wounded policeman as Havildar Kafayatlah. A senior police official told Dawn that they have launched an investigation into the incident to determine its motive and trace those involved in it.
Lashkar founder killed
Banned Lashkar-i-Islam founder Mufti Shakir was killed and three people sustained injuries in an explosion outside his seminary in the Urmar area on the outskirts of Peshawar, on Saturday.
Police said Mufti Shakir, along with three others, was shifted to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) after the blast where LRH spokesperson confirmed his demise.
LI, the banned outfit formed by Mufti Shakir, was taken over by Mangal Bagh after which the deceased was expelled from the district. He was also expelled from Hangu over sectarian issues. He later settled in Khyber district.
In Khyber, Mufti Shakir entered into a confrontation with Pir Saifur Rehman, leader of another group, and the armed clashes between supporters of the two leaders claimed dozens of lives. The Khyber administration later expelled them.
In March 2006, over 20 persons were killed in an exchange of fire between the followers of both groups when Mufti Shakir’s supporters cordoned off the house of Pir Rehman’s follower.
Recently, Mufti Shakir surfaced in Urmar area. With almost all his videos, which went viral on social media, Mufti Shakir took a firm stand against extremism, militancy, and sectarian clashes in Kurram district.
Anwarullah Khan in Bajaur, Ghulam Mursalin Marwat in Lakki Marwat and Umar Farooq in Peshawar contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2025
