By Staff Reporter
PESHAWAR: Nine Pakistani police officers, including a senior commanding officer, were killed and 28 more wounded after militants stormed a checkpost in the country’s restive north-west late on Wednesday, in the latest in a string of attacks to hit security forces in the region.
The assault targeted the Khazina Banda checkpost in Hangu district, part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan and has become an increasingly frequent flashpoint in Pakistan’s long-running battle against militancy.
Zulfiqar Hameed, the provincial police chief, said officers stationed at the post came under attack from fighters the state refers to as Fitna al-Khawarij — the term used by Pakistani authorities for militants belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, commonly known as the TTP.
According to Mr Hameed, the officers on duty responded immediately, and reinforcements were sent to the scene. But the additional contingent was ambushed en route, and an armoured personnel carrier was damaged in the fighting that followed.
What began as a skirmish escalated into a prolonged and intense exchange of fire. By the time it ended, nine police officers were dead, among them Deputy Superintendent of Police Diyar Khan, while 28 others had sustained injuries, some critical.
Mr Hameed said fifteen militants were killed and several more wounded in the clash, a toll he attributed to the professionalism and bravery of the officers involved. He insisted that the morale of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s police force remained undiminished, and vowed that operations to root out militancy from the province would continue.
A senior police official separately confirmed the casualty figures to Dawn newspaper, describing how the exchange of fire erupted after militants launched their assault on the checkpost.
The Associated Press, citing a local police official named Irfan Khan, reported a lower initial toll of five officers killed and around two dozen wounded, with the battle still ongoing at the time of reporting and four attackers killed. Casualty figures in the immediate aftermath of such attacks frequently shift as more complete information emerges. No group had claimed responsibility by Wednesday night, though suspicion is likely to fall on the TTP, which has intensified its campaign against Pakistani security forces in recent months.
Second attack the same night
In a separate incident hours later, militants also attacked a police checkpost in the Adezai area of Peshawar, within the jurisdiction of Mattani police station. A senior police official said officers returned fire, forcing the attackers to flee, and confirmed that no casualties were sustained on the police side.
Political reaction
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the Hangu attack in strong terms, offering condolences to the families of the officers killed and wishing a swift recovery to the wounded. He paid particular tribute to DSP Khan, saying the officer and his colleagues had “sacrificed their lives and foiled the nefarious designs of the khawarij”. Mr Naqvi said police had responded promptly, killing eight militants and thwarting the wider assault, and described the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police as standing on the front line of Pakistan’s fight against terrorism.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister, Sohail Afridi, said he had ordered a full report from the provincial police chief and directed authorities to ensure the injured received the best available medical treatment. He pledged that the families of those killed would receive every possible assistance, describing the sacrifices of the police force as unforgettable and vowing that the fight against militancy would continue until it reached, in his words, its “logical end”.
Provincial governor Faisal Karim Kundi also condemned the attack, calling the sacrifices of the officers “the nation’s asset” and insisting that militants would never succeed in their aims. Provincial Information Minister Shafi Jan described the assault as “an extremely cowardly act”, adding that the families of the bereaved would not be left to face their loss alone.
Deadly operation in Swat
The Hangu attack came on a day already marked by violence in the province. Earlier on Wednesday, a police officer and four members of a village defence committee were killed during a joint operation against militants in the mountainous Kabal and Matta areas of Swat district, which also left six TTP fighters dead.
The operation, carried out jointly by the Counter Terrorism Department and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police, saw intense clashes erupt in the Shalkho Sar area as security forces moved against militant hideouts. Several militants were reported to have been wounded and evacuated by their associates during the fighting.
Among those killed was Elite Force Constable Gulfam Khan, along with four members of the village defence committee: Umar Hayat, Gul Zeb, Muhammad Karim and Akhtar Zeb, all from the Shaland Danda area under Shah Dheri police station. Officials said Muhammad Karim had previously served on the committee and had played an active role in maintaining security in the area.
Constable Khan was given a funeral with full state honours at Police Lines Swat, attended by senior civilian and military officials including Malakand Commissioner Masood Ahmad and regional police officer Syed Fida Hassan Shah. Officials there described police killed in the line of duty as “the nation’s true heroes”. His body was later taken to his native village in Kohat for burial. Security officials said clearance operations in the area were continuing.
A worsening picture
The violence adds to what analysts describe as a deteriorating security situation across Pakistan’s north-west and south-west. A monthly assessment published in early June by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies found that the country’s security situation had worsened sharply in May, following two months of improvement, driven largely by escalating militant violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
The Hangu attack follows one of the deadliest assaults on Pakistani police in recent months. On 6 July, 27 officers were killed in an attack on a police post in Ziarat district, Balochistan — nine killed in the initial assault, with a further 18 killed after being taken captive by the attackers.
Pakistan’s military said separately that security forces had killed 32 militants in intelligence-based operations carried out across the north-west and south-west in the 24 hours before the Hangu attack.
The TTP, a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, has stepped up its campaign against Pakistani security forces since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan government of harbouring TTP fighters on its soil, an allegation Kabul denies.
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