KOHAT: At least seven people, including six police personnel, were martyred and several others injured in a terrorist attack on a police van in Kohat district on Tuesday, police said.
According to officials, militants opened fire on a police mobile van in the remote Shakardara Road area, killing three policemen, including Deputy Superintendent of Police Asad Mehmood, on the spot. Two civilians passing by were also injured in the attack.
Kohat Police later confirmed that the death toll rose to seven after three injured cops and one civilian succumbed to their wounds. Three policemen and another civilian remain under treatment. The attackers also set the police vehicle on fire before fleeing the scene.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the attack carried out by militants linked to Fitna al-Khawarij. He paid tribute to DSP Mehmood and the martyred personnel, honouring their sacrifice in the line of duty.
Naqvi expressed condolences to the bereaved families and said the martyrs sacrificed their today for the nation’s tomorrow, assuring that the government stands with the families in this difficult time.
The attack comes amid a surge in militant violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. A day earlier, three personnel of the Federal Constabulary were martyred in a similar attack in Karak, while security forces killed four militants in an intelligence-based operation in Dera Ismail Khan and five others in Balochistan’s Pishin district.
Pakistan has witnessed increased cross-border militant activity since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021, particularly in provinces bordering Afghanistan. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif recently alleged that India was waging a proxy war against Pakistan through militant attacks.
Amid rising incidents, Pakistan carried out intelligence-based strikes targeting militant camps along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost provinces, with security sources claiming more than 80 militants were killed.
Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul have escalated following repeated attacks and border clashes, with Pakistan urging Afghan authorities to act against militant groups operating from their soil.