Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah Khan said Saturday that the federal government was seriously concerned over the worsening law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

In a Twitter post, the minister criticised the KP government for not learning a lesson from the terrorist attack on Counter Terrorism Department Centre in Bannu last month, where law enforcers were held hostage by militants.

He lambasted KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, saying that he was "more focused on dissolving the assembly."

“The KP police are not safe from terrorist attacks, then what will be the state of people’s protection?” the minister asked.

He paid tribute to the martyred police officials and saluted their sacrifices. On Friday night, at least three police personnel were martyred in a terrorist attack on Sarband Police station in Peshawar.

Deputy Superintendent Police Sardar Hussain and his two police guards lost their lives in an exchange of fire with terrorists in the Badhabir area.

The police said it was coordinated from multiple directions and the terrorists used multiple weapons. They lobbed hand grenades and resorted to sniper shots and automatic guns.

A funeral was held for the martyred police officials in Peshawar on Saturday that was attended by senior police and military officials.

Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) in its annual report “Pakistan Security Report 2022” said that a total of 262 terrorist attacks in Pakistan in 2022 – including 14 suicide bombings –claimed in all 419 lives and injured another 734 people.

According to the report, out of the total attacks, the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) carried out 89 terrorist attacks in Pakistan in the year 2022. The Islamic State’s Khorasan (IS-K) chapter also stepped up its attacks in the year and carried out at least 23 terrorist attacks as compared to eight in 2021.