PESHAWAR: As the country continues to reel from increased terrorist attacks, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police have thwarted multiple attacks on police stations and checkposts across the province over the past two nights.
The terrorist attacks, as per the Central Police Office, were reported in Bannu, Karak, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, and Peshawar, where police forces bravely countered the assaults.
Security forces also conducted operations, destroying an outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) camp and temporary hideouts in the mountainous region between Lakki Marwat, Karak, and Mianwali.
In Peshawar, unidentified attackers hurled a hand grenade at the Regi police station’s Malazai checkpost. However, no casualties were reported and a search operation was launched to track down the perpetrators.
Meanwhile, in Lakki Marwat, terrorists targeted the Gambila Police Station from two directions, but the Quick Response Force (QRF) retaliated swiftly forcing the attackers to flee.
The exchange of fire lasted 15 minutes, forcing the terrorists to flee without causing any casualties, said Lakki Marwat DPO Jawwad Ishaq.
In Khyber’s Jamrud Bypass, militants attacked a Bara Rifles security checkpoint, but security personnel repelled the assault. Two security personnel sustained injuries in the firefight, and a search operation was launched in the area.
Meanwhile, in counter-terror operations, police killed two terrorists in Lakki Marwat and Karak. After being pushed back, militants attacked Abbas Khatak checkpost.
In Tank, police forces killed one terrorist and injured several others in retaliation after an attack on the Nasran checkpost. In Karak, security forces eliminated terrorist commander Kashif Shakar Khel, linked to the Kaleemullah group.
According to the Central Police Office, a brave and dedicated ASI, Noor Salam, was martyred by a sniper bullet during an operation in Karak.
Authorities have intensified search operations in affected areas to apprehend the remaining militants.
The anti-terror ops and militant attacks come against the backdrop of a notable increase in violence which has seen the country becoming the second-most terrorism-affected country in 2024, as per a Global Terrorism Index 2025 report.
Pakistan — placed at the second spot from its previously fourth position — witnessed an alarming 45% increase in terrorism-related deaths with the total rising from 748 in 2023 to 1,081 in 2024 — one of the steepest surges globally.
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the last week’s harrowing attack on the Jaffar Express in Balochistan, which resulted in dozens of casualties including that of security forces, the government has National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has convened an in-camera meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) on March 18.
During the meeting set to take place at 1:30pm tomorrow, military leadership will provide a comprehensive briefing to the parliamentary committee on the prevailing security situation.
It is to be noted that KP and Balochistan, both of which share borders with neighbouring Afghanistan, have faced the brunt of the terrorist attacks in recent months.
