PESHAWAR: At least six policemen were shot and killed by unidentified gunmen in Lakki Marwat city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, authorities said.
Officials said the law enforcement personnel died when their mobile patrol came under gunfire in the morning.
According to Radio Pakistan, which described the incident as a terrorist attack, the slain men also included the driver. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Mahmood Khan, chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sought a report from Moazzam Jah Ansari, chief of the provincial police.
In a statement, Khan termed the incident “very unfortunate” and said the “sacrifice of the martyrs will not be in vain”. He also extended condolences to the families of the victims.
لکی مروت میں پولیس موبائل پر فائرنگ کا واقعہ/ وزیر اعلیٰ محمود خان کا نوٹس
پشاور: وزیر اعلیٰ نے آئ جی پولیس سے واقعے کی رپورٹ طلب کرلی،
پشاور: واقعہ انتہائی افسوناک ہے، شہداء کی قربانی رائیگاں نہیں جائے گی، @IMMahmoodKhan pic.twitter.com/NOAsCiRZmq— CM KP Updates (@CMKPUpdates) November 16, 2022
The prime minister also condemned the incident. “Terrorists are the enemies of Pakistan and every possible step will be taken to safeguard the country,” he said in a statement.
Paying tribute to the killed police, Shehbaz Sharif said the “whole nation salutes the sons of the soil who sacrificed their lives for the motherland”.
Let us make no mistake. Terrorism continues to be one of Pakistan’s foremost problems. Our armed forces & police have valiently fought the scourge. No words are enough to condemn terrorists’ attack on a police van in Lakki Marwat. My thoughts & prayers are with bereaved families.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) November 16, 2022
He urged the provincial government to immediately announce a financial assistance package for the police personnel.
Attacks on security forces and civilians have recently increased in various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. More than 450 people, mostly security forces, have been killed in such attacks, in the first nine months of 2022 alone.
Officials dismissed the violence as “isolated incidents of terrorism.”
“The scale of [Wednesday’s] attack shows the extent to which terrorism has spread in our province,” tweeted Mohsin Dawar, an MP from Miran Shah tehsil of North Waziristan district. “The mainstream and the state have chosen to ignore the large protests against Talibanisation in [Khyber] Pakhtunkhwa,” claimed Dawar who is a member of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition movement.
Six policemen have been martyred in a horrific terrorist attack in Lakki Marwat. The scale of the attack shows the extent to which terrorism has spread in our province. The mainstream and the state have chosen to ignore the large protests against Talibanization in Pakhtunkhwa.
— Mohsin Dawar (@mjdawar) November 16, 2022
Islamabad has attributed the resurgence in militancy to the Taliban takeover of conflict-torn Afghanistan, where Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants have taken refuge and continue to direct cross-border attacks from there.
