File photo. A. Majeed—AFP
A deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and a gunman were martyred in Lakki Marwat after militants targeted a police vehicle, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police announced on Saturday.
According to a statement, the policemen were attacked near Manjiwala Chowk, with DSP Gul Mohammad Khan and Constable Naseem Gul embracing martyrdom. It said another policeman was injured and has been shifted to hospital for treatment.
Immediately after the attack, a heavy contingent of police reached the spot and launched a search operation for any militants in the area.
Separately, on Friday, a police constable embraced martyrdom when unidentified armed men opened fire on a polio campaign assessment team in the Manra area of South Waziristan’s Birmil tehsil.
According to local police, a polio campaign monitoring team was visiting the area when the unidentified persons opened fire at the police constable providing security, killing him on the spot. They said the polio monitoring staff escaped unhurt in the firing.
After the attack, a police contingent reached the scene, cordoning off the area and launching a search operation for the armed individuals.
Pakistan is the midst of a resurgence of terrorism nationwide, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, with authorities blaming terrorists sheltering in neighboring Afghanistan. According to a report issued by the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), at least 92 percent of all terror-related fatalities, and 86 percent of attacks, were recorded in the two provinces in the first quarter of 2024.