PESHAWAR: At least four people including three police personnel were martyred in a terrorist attack on Lachi Toll Plaza and a check post on Indus Highway in Kohat on Wednesday.
Police said that more than 10 terrorists attacked the police station with heavy weapons at night. The martyred cops were identified as lance head constables Amjad and Junaid, and head constable Waqar. The fourth victim was identified as Noor Muhammad, a resident of Lakki Marwat.
According to police, the retaliatory fire by the law enforcers made the militants retreat. A large contingent of police reached the venue soon after the attack.
The dead bodies of the martyred officers were shifted to the hospital.
Security personnel are conducting a search operation in the area.
Police said that the attackers were hiding near the hilly area and they would be eliminated soon. Terrorists are believed to be holed up in the nearby mountainous area. When contacted, police sources said the terrorists will be arrested in the ongoing search operation.
The incident comes just two days after a vehicle carrying police personnel on polio duty came under attack in KP’s Mamond tehsil. Seven policemen were martyred in the incident.
The same day, a soldier lost his life while an injured militant was arrested following an exchange of fire between security forces and militants in North Waziristan.
Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari condemned the attack.
In a statement, he expressed grief over the lives lost in the incident and offered his condolences to the bereaved families. “Terrorists are enemies of the country,” he added. Bilawal said that the sacrifices rendered by the army, security forces and the police would not be in vain.
Ex-president Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the attack and expressed grief over the deaths. He asserted that the National Action Plan be implemented to completely eradicate terrorism.
PPP’s Sherry Rehman said the perpetrators involved in the attack “must be arrested as soon as possible and given exemplary punishment”. “Thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families,” she said.
National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf expressed remorse over the loss of lives and offered his condolences to the grieving families. He added that the entire nation stood with the country’s security forces in the fight against terrorism.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been experiencing a new wave of terrorism ever since the PTI government decided to hold so-called peace talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – a move that has proved to be a disaster.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024