LAKKI MARWAT: At least four policemen were martyred and four others injured as terrorists attacked Lakki Marwat’s Baragai police station in Kyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) early Sunday morning.
According to police officials, there was a fierce exchange of fire between the police and terrorists in which the attackers threw hand grenades and rockets toward the police station.
After the incident, a heavy contingent of police force reached the spot and initiated a search operation in the area.
As per sources, head Constable Ibrahim, Imran, Khairur Rahman and Sabz Ali embraced martyrdom while Gul Sahib Khan, Balqiyaz, Amir Nawaz and Farman Ullah were injured in the incident.
Funeral prayers for the slain policemen were held at the Lakki police line and were attended by Regional Police Officer (RPO) Bannu Syed Ashfaq Anwar, Deputy Police Officer (DPO) Ziauddin, senior military and civil officials, among others.
PM, president condemn attack
President Arif Alvi condemned the attack and prayed for the elevation of the ranks of the martyred and for the speedy recovery of those injured.
The president also expressed his condolences to the families of the martyrs and said our efforts will continue “until the complete elimination of the remnants of terrorism”.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack and said that the entire “nation saluted the huge sacrifices of police officers in their fight against terrorism”.
The premier further paid tribute to the supreme sacrifices of the police personnel, adding that terrorists were the open enemies of Pakistan and the nation.
“Those who have been shielding the nation against terrorists are our heroes,” Prime Minister Office Media Wing, in a press release, quoted the premier as saying.
Shehbaz furthered that the “elimination of terrorists, their supporters and facilitators had been the national priority”.
The premier also urged the K-P provincial government to provide Shuhada package to the families of the martyred police personnel.
CM seeks report from IG
Following the attack on police personnel, Chief Minister K-P Mahmood Khan condemned the incident and sought a report from the inspector general of police (IG).
The CM also instructed officials to provide the best medical aid to the injured policemen.
He prayed for the elevation of the ranks of the martyred personnel and said that the incident is “very sad”, adding that the “sacrifices of the martyrs will not go in vain”.
Last month, six policemen and two army soldiers were martyred in separate terrorist attacks in the Lakki Marwat and Bajaur districts of K-P.
The six policemen embraced martyrdom when their vehicle came under attack from unknown motorcyclists near the Wanda Shahabkhel area in the limits of the Dadiwala police station in Lakki Marwat district, police spokesperson Shahid Hameed confirmed.
According to the spokesperson, the police mobile from the Abbasa Khattak police station was headed towards Landiwah village for security duty at the weekly Wednesday bazaar, when the assailants opened fire on it.
In a separate incident, two army soldiers were martyred in a gunfight with terrorists in the Hilal Khel area of Bajaur district, according to a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in Rawalpindi.
End of ceasefire
This is the latest attack on law enforcement agencies since the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) called off the ceasefire and ordered its militants to stage terrorist attacks across the country.
The TTP, a separate entity from the Taliban in Afghanistan but sharing a similar hardline ideology, has been responsible for hundreds of attacks and thousands of deaths in Pakistan since emerging in 2007.
The government and the TTP had agreed to a truce earlier this year after Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers took a prominent role in brokering peace talks, but negotiations made little progress and there were frequent breaches.__Tribune.com
