Police constable shot dead while travelling to duty in Bannu

A police constable was shot dead by terrorists after being pulled from a rickshaw near Lora Bridge in Bannu on Monday while travelling to his place of duty, District Police Officer (DPO) Bannu Yasir Afridi confirmed. According to Afridi, Constable Umar Niaz Khan was on his way to the DIG Bungalow, where he was posted, when unidentified armed terrorists intercepted the rickshaw carrying him near Lora Bridge. He said the attackers forced the constable out of the vehicle before opening indiscriminate fire, killing him at the scene. The assailants fled immediately after the attack. Following the incident, police and members of the local peace committee reached the site, cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to apprehend the attackers. Investigators collected evidence from the crime scene and have opened an investigation into the killing. Later, funeral prayers for Khan were offered with full official honours at Bannu Police Lines. The ceremony was attended by police officers, personnel and other government officials, who paid tribute to the slain officer's sacrifice. Police also reiterated their commitment to bringing those responsible for the attack to justice. The killing followed a fresh wave of terrorist violence in Bannu and the adjoining South Waziristan Lower district, where multiple attacks over the past week have underscored growing security concerns. In South Waziristan, unidentified terrorists destroyed a government girls' primary school in the Sara Ghora area of Barmal Tehsil by planting explosives inside the building during the night, reducing the structure to rubble. In another attack, terrorists used a quadcopter to drop two improvised explosive devices inside the premises of Haved Police Station, injuring two Frontier Corps personnel and damaging two official vehicles. Read: Terror wave jolts Bannu, South Waziristan In another incident, Nisar Ahmed, headmaster of the Government High School in the Mandiu area of Miryan Tehsil, was allegedly abducted by armed men from the school premises, raising alarm among teachers and residents. Bannu also witnessed other security incidents during the week. A suspected drone strike in the Narmi Khel area under Bakakhel Police Station injured rickshaw driver Asifullah, while two mortar rounds fired towards Bannu Cantonment landed at the old ROD Ground, causing panic but no casualties. Separately, retired Frontier Corps official Ali Mar Khan was abducted from the Jani Khel area. K-P remains a key focus of the country's counterterrorism efforts, with security forces regularly conducting IBOs against terrorists. The province witnessed a significant rise in militant violence last year, with more than 500 attacks reported, marking a 50% increase compared to the previous year. According to a security assessment obtained by The Express Tribune, K-P recorded 1,588 terrorism-related incidents, underscoring the growing militant threat across both settled and tribal districts. Despite the increase in attacks, security forces reportedly thwarted 320 major strikes, while 137 police personnel were killed in the line of duty. Read More: Bannu's misery The report said joint operations by the K-P Police, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and other security agencies led to the arrest of 1,244 suspected militants, while 420 militants were killed in intelligence-based operations. Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat, Hangu and Peshawar were among the districts most affected by militant violence, with the report noting a pattern of attacks allegedly planned and launched from across the Afghan border. The CTD report also recorded a 56% increase in attacks targeting police personnel, rising from 327 in 2024 to 510 in 2025. During the year, security agencies conducted 2,791 search operations and identified 25 foreign militant operatives, while extortion networks operating in Peshawar and other districts were dismantled, according to the report.

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