Elsewhere, the spokesman said FC personnel seized a local leader of the banned BLA in Sheikhri area of Kalat. PHOTO: EXPRESS
DERA ISMAIL KHAN/RAWALPINDI:
Four members of a local peace committee were killed on Tuesday when unidentified gunmen attacked their car in Bannu district of volatile Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, a day after six policemen were killed in a bomb attack in the nearby Tank district.
The security situation in KP, which shares a long border with Afghanistan, remains precarious amid unabated infiltration of terrorists from across the border. Officials say Afghanistan continues to serve as a haven for terrorist groups of all stripes.
“The Khawarij attackers were lying in wait for the vehicle with the peace committee members in the Huwed area of Bannu. They opened fire as soon as the vehicle approached, killing all four occupants on the spot,” a senior police official told The Express Pakinomist.
The term Khawarij is used for fighters from the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), officially designated as Fitna al-Khawarij to highlight the group’s extremist, regressive and exclusionary ideology.
The official said a father and his son were among the victims, adding that an investigation into the incident had been launched.
Local sources said peace committee members in the area had taken up arms in self-defense in response to persistent terrorist threats, a development that has contributed to heightened tensions in and around Bannu in recent months.
Attacks on peace committee members in KP have increased in both frequency and intensity as terrorist groups see them as collaborators with the government. In November 2025, seven people were killed when a peace committee office was attacked in Bannu. Earlier, in October, a member of the Peace Committee was killed during a clash with militants in the Ahmadzai area.
Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack and expressed deep sorrow over the martyrdom of the four peace committee members. He condoled with the bereaved families and reaffirmed the government’s resolve to eliminate terrorism from the province.
“The cowardly acts of terrorists cannot weaken the resolve of the nation,” he said, adding that all attempts to disturb the peace would be thwarted.
Terrorist incidents have increased in KP and Balochistan since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, with KP accounting for over 80 percent of attacks, followed by Balochistan, where officials say India-backed groups are waging a proxy war.
Meanwhile, the military’s media wing said four terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Kalat district of Balochistan. According to the ISPR, the operation was conducted against militants belonging to the Indian proxy group Fitna al Hindustan.
“During the operation, the security forces effectively engaged the hideout of the terrorists and after an intense exchange of fire, four Indian-sponsored terrorists were sent to hell,” the statement said, adding that arms and ammunition were also recovered.
The ISPR said clearance operations were underway and promised that the counter-terrorism campaign under Azm-e-Istehkam would continue at full pace to eradicate foreign-sponsored terrorism from the country.
