PESHAWAR (The Thursday Times) — Three policemen were martyred in separate terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur districts on Friday, and a head constable was abducted in Bannu, police said.
In Bannu, terrorists opened fire on Counter Terrorism Department Constable Sadiq Zaman at Barmashil Chowk, martyring him on the spot. A resident of Taji Killi, he was serving as a CTD driver in North Waziristan and was home on leave. Separately, armed men abducted Head Constable Ziaullah, who was posted at Bannu Police Lines, from the Karam Garhi area near Baran Dam.
In Lakki Marwat, terrorists martyred Constable Mumtaz near a bank in the Shahbazkhel police station area. Police, Counter Terrorism Department personnel and the local peace committee launched an immediate operation and killed two terrorists allegedly involved in an earlier target killing of a police constable, the Express Tribune reported.
In Bajaur, Constable Khaista Main Syed was martyred in a late-night attack on the Silai Pati police post in Barang tehsil. Police said he confronted the attackers bravely before succumbing to his wounds. His funeral prayers were held at the Police Lines in Khar, attended by the district police officer, the deputy commissioner and senior officials.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police have borne the brunt of a wave of attacks by Fitna al-Khawarij, the term the state uses for terrorists of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, particularly in the southern districts bordering Afghanistan. The province is under an emergency, and security forces have stepped up intelligence-based operations against terrorists.
