A police officer embraced martyrdom while three terrorists were neutralised during a fierce gun battle in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohat district on Saturday.
According to Regional Police Officer (RPO) Abbas Majeed Marwat, the attack occurred in the Lachi area when terrorists ambushed police personnel. Inspector Ashfaq was martyred in the assault, while two other officers sustained injuries. In the retaliatory exchange of fire, three attackers were killed.
This incident comes amid a rise in militant activity across the province. Earlier in August, a similar strike on a police checkpost in Bannu claimed the life of one policeman, with three militants eliminated in the ensuing firefight.
Since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has faced an uptick in cross-border militancy, particularly targeting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
A recent report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) highlighted the scale of violence: in June alone, 78 terrorist attacks were recorded, resulting in at least 100 fatalities. The dead included 53 security personnel, 39 civilians, six militants, and two members of peace committees. Another 189 people were injured, most of them security officials.
In total, June’s violence and counter-operations left 175 people dead — 55 security officers, 77 militants, 41 civilians, and two peace committee members — underscoring the heavy toll of ongoing terrorism in the country.
