5-2-2024 (ISLAMABAD) In a devastating pre-dawn assault on Monday, militants launched a violent attack on a police station in northwest Pakistan, resulting in the tragic loss of at least 10 police personnel and leaving six others injured, as authorities grapple with escalating violence ahead of the general elections scheduled for this week.
According to police officials in Pakistan’s Draban region in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, the attack unfolded around 3 a.m. local time (2200 GMT Sunday), as militants initiated the assault with sniper fire on the police station before infiltrating the premises.
Malik Anees ul Hassan, the deputy superintendent of police in Draban, described the harrowing sequence of events, stating, “After breaching the building, the terrorists resorted to the use of hand grenades, resulting in further casualties among the police.”
The motive behind the attack remains unclear, and authorities are investigating whether it is linked to the upcoming election.
This tragic incident follows a series of violent events in the region. Last Wednesday, a national assembly candidate was fatally shot elsewhere in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, while on the same day, another political leader was gunned down in his party’s election office in Balochistan province.
On Tuesday, a bomb explosion during an election rally in Balochistan claimed the lives of four individuals, with the Islamic State claiming responsibility for the attack.
Draban is situated in an area known as a stronghold of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party. Reports indicate that Maulana Fazal Ur Rehman, the leader of the conservative religious party, recently travelled to Afghanistan to meet with the Taliban’s supreme spiritual leader, marking one of his rare encounters with foreign dignitaries. The party has voiced concerns over security issues and called for a postponement of Pakistan’s polls.
Pakistan has witnessed a resurgence of attacks by Islamist militants, particularly targeting security personnel, since the breakdown of a ceasefire between the Pakistani Taliban and the government in 2022.
BREAKING : Pashtun fighters attacked a police station in Dera Ismail Khan area of Pakistan occupied Pashtunistan. At least 10 personnel of occupational forces liquidated while 6 are critically injured. #DeraIsmailKhan pic.twitter.com/vxX5nbjCzx
— Anaya fatima (@Anaya406) February 5, 2024
