Pakistan: Cop killed, two others injured as police van attacked in Peshawar

Islamabad [Pakistan], August 7 (ANI): A police personnel was killed and two others were injured after a police van in the Badaber area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Peshawar was attacked, Pakistan-based Geo News reported. 

Police Constable Yar Muhammad was critically injured along with two other policemen when unidentified armed men attacked their van. While undergoing treatment, Muhammad succumbed to his injuries, according to Geo News report. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack on a police vehicle. 

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan has witnessed a rise in terror incidents in recent months after the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with Pakistan. 

As per the news report, a rise in attacks has been witnessed in July, making it the second deadliest month of 2023, with 124 fatalities and 218 injuries. July also saw the highest number of suicide attacks in any single month of the current year, with five such attacks causing the death of 69 people and injuring 175 others.

Most of these casualties took place during a suicide blast at a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) election rally in the Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Keeping in view the rise in terrorist attacks, the Pakistan government has warned Afghanistan against providing safe havens to the outlawed TTP, Geo News reported. 

Earlier on Saturday, a group of police personnel guarding and escorting polio vaccination team faced an armed attack in Killi Qambrani, a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Quetta, Pakistan-based Dawn reported. The attack took place during the last leg of immunisation in the region.

Notably, this was the third attack on police officials guarding polio vaccinators during the past week. The other two had claimed three lives, as per Dawn. The police said that the police personnel survived the armed attack and the polio workers also remained safe.

“Police personnel, who were guarding the polio team, were alert in the wake of Monday’s shooting on police in Nawan Killi area,” Dawn quoted a senior police officer as saying.

After coming under attack, the police guards also opened fire and one of the attackers suffered injuries, however, he was taken away by his accomplices on motorbikes, Dawn reported. However, there was no official confirmation in this regard, according to Dawn.

“No injured was brought to any government hospital in Quetta till late evening hours,” the officials stated. Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langove said the government would ensure the security of polio vaccinators.

Earlier on August 1, two police personnel escorting a polio vaccination team were killed on Tuesday when armed men opened fire on them in Quetta’s Nawa Killi region, Dawn reported citing police.