At least seven individuals, including six cops, were martyred and multiple personnel sustained injuries in a terrorist attack on a police van in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohat district on Tuesday.
Police said the terrorists opened fire on a police mobile van in the remote area of Shakardara Road, resulting in the martyrdom of three policemen, including a deputy superintendent, identified as Asad Mehmood, on the spot.
Meanwhile, two civilians passing by the van were also injured in the attack.
Police said the death toll rose to seven after three injured cops and one civilian succumbed to their wounds.
Three cops and the other civilian injured in the shooting were still under treatment.
Following the attack, the terrorists also set the mobile van ablaze, police added.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the terrorist attack carried out by Fitna al-Khawarij militants.
He paid tribute to DSP Mehmood and three police personnel who were martyred in the attack, honouring their sacrifice and bravery in the line of duty.
The interior minister expressed heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the families of the martyrs, stating that DSP Mehmood and the fallen officers attained the highest rank of martyrdom.
Naqvi said the martyrs sacrificed their today for the nation’s tomorrow, adding that their timeless sacrifices will always be remembered.
He assured that the government stands with the families of the martyrs in this difficult time and shares in their grief.
Terrorist attacks have been prevalent in the country, especially in the provinces neighbouring Afghanistan.
At least three Federal Constabulary (FC) men were martyred when an ambulance carrying injured personnel came under a terrorist attack in the Badrakhail area of Karak, KP on Monday.
Moreover, four Indian proxy, Fitna al-Khawarij terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan, while five others were killed in separate raid in Balochistan’s Pishin district.
Pakistan, since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, has witnessed an increase in cross-border terrorist activity, particularly in the provinces of KP and Balochistan, which share a border with Afghanistan.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif earlier this month said that India was also waging a “proxy war” against Pakistan via militant attacks, stressing that New Delhi and Kabul, along with the militant outfits, “are on the same page.”
Amid the rising terror incidents, Pakistan carried out intelligence-based strikes targeting seven terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Fitna al Khawarij (FAK), its affiliates and the Daesh-Khorasan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in response to recent suicide attacks.
The airstrikes were carried out in Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost provinces of Afghanistan on Sunday morning, the security sources said, adding that more than 80 militants were killed in the airstrikes.
The camps targeted included “New Centre No. 1 and New Centre No. 2 in Nangarhar, Khwariji Maulvi Abbas Centre in Khost, Khwariji Islam Centre, Khwariji Ibrahim Centre in Nangarhar, and Khwariji Mullah Rahbar and Khwariji Mukhlis Yar in Paktika.”
Islamabad-Kabul tension
Pakistan’s recent strikes along the Afghan border come in the wake of a spate of terrorist attacks in KP and Balochistan, which claimed the lives of numerous civilians and security personnel.
Islamabad has repeatedly called on the Afghan Taliban regime to rein in militant groups operating from their territory, but Kabul has largely remained unresponsive to these appeals.
The two countries, back in October 2025, were engaged in border clashes after the Afghan Taliban and militants launched unprovoked attacks against Pakistan’s border posts.
The resulting clashes led to the killing of over 200 Taliban and affiliated militants, while 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred defending the motherland.
Pakistan also conducted “precision strikes” deep inside Afghanistan, targeting terrorists in Kandahar province and Kabul.
However, despite many rounds of talks, both countries failed to reach a ceasefire due to the Afghan Taliban regime’s reluctance to take action against terrorist outfits.
