Pakistan: Police constable shot dead by unknown assailants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bannu district
A police constable was reportedly shot dead in an attack by unknown assailants near Amin Mughalkhel Malik Adda, district Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan on Thursday.
FollowA police constable was reportedly shot dead in an attack carried out by unidentified assailants in Bannu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan on Thursday. According to reports, the incident took place near Amin Mughal Khel Malik Adda and has raised concerns about security in the region. The reported incident comes amidst a wave of attacks launched by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the region in recent times. Details of the reported gunning down of the police constable remain murky and official confirmation is awaited.
According to a recent report by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), an independent think tank based in Islamabad, terrorist attacks saw a 19 per cent increase during the first nine months of 2023 compared to 2022. The report highlights that 92 per cent of these attacks were concentrated in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan regions. The report noted that majority of the attacks were launched by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the primary foe of the Pakistani state.
Following the Taliban's seizure of Kabul in August 2021, which was widely celebrated by the Pakistani establishment, there has been a notable increase in terrorist attacks attributed to the TTP's heightened confidence. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan characterized the Taliban's resurgence as a 'golden opportunity' to address the menace posed by the TTP.
The civil-military leadership anticipated that the Taliban's resurgence would enable Pakistan to broaden its influence in Afghanistan. However, years later, relations between the two nations remain strained, marked by recurrent border clashes arising from disputes over border fencing, Afghanistan's rejection of the Durand Line, and the Afghan Taliban's tactical backing of the TTP.
Thursday's incident comes a day after newly-elected lawmakers of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly were sworn in, with jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party in poll position to form the provincial government for the third consecutive time. Outgoing Speaker Mushtaq Ghani administered the oath to the 113 provincial lawmakers elected to the Assembly on general seats.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly comprises 145 members in total, with 10 women and four minorities elected to reserved seats. However, the allocation of these reserved seats has not been finalized as it is currently under review by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The 71-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-supported independent candidates secured a decisive majority in the provincial legislature with 90 seats, enabling them to establish the third consecutive independent government in the province.
Ahead of Wednesday's session in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, PTI party leaders engaged in riotous behavior, chanting slogans of "mandate thief" against the Opposition. The PTI leader Khan has nominated Ali Amin Gandapur as the party's candidate for chief minister and Babar Salim Swati for the Assembly speaker position.
Following the administration of the oath, Speaker Ghani declared that the election for the speaker and deputy speaker of the 145-member House would take place on Thursday.
On Tuesday, a senior police officer was killed and three others sustained injuries during an intelligence-based operation in northwest Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in which two terrorists were shot dead.
During the operation conducted in the Mardan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ijaz Khan lost his life, while a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) sustained injuries.
According to a counter-terrorism department (CTD) official, two terrorists were killed in a shootout in Mardan's Katlang tehsil. One of the them, identified as Mohsin Kadir, was among the most wanted, the official stated.
According to records from the Department of Interior and Tribal Affairs of the province, the regions most impacted by terrorism comprised Peshawar, Khyber, Bajaur, and Tank, with DI Khan, North Waziristan, and South Waziristan also listed among the terror-affected areas.
The documents disclosed a total of 1,050 terrorism incidents occurring in KP last year, with 419 incidents taking place in the settled districts and 631 incidents in the merged districts.
