Assistant Commissioner Shah Wali killing marks second official targeted on Miranshah-Bannu link road in a month
The burnt out wreckage of Assistant Commissioner Shah Wali’s vehicle on Miranshah Road on Tuesday. PHOTO: EXPRESS
KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA/ BANNU:
North Waziristan Assistant Commissioner Shah Wali and three others were martyred on Tuesday when unidentified assailants ambushed their vehicle on Miranshah Road, police and district officials said.
The Assistant Commissioner traveled from Miranshah to Bannu on official duty. According to police, assailants riding a motorcycle opened fire on the vehicle before setting it on fire and fleeing the scene.
The burnt out wreckage of Assistant Commissioner Shah Wali’s vehicle on Miranshah Road on Tuesday. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Police confirmed that four people were martyred in the attack. They were identified as AC Shah Wali, Constable Syed Rehman, Constable Sher Rehman and a passerby, Aziz-ur-Rehman.
Two other policemen, identified as Constable Faheem and Constable Rais, were seriously injured in the attack and were immediately shifted to Bannu Hospital for medical treatment.
A contingent of police and security forces reached the spot, cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. The police described the incident as a targeted attack.
DIG Bannu Sajjad Khan confirmed the security increase and stated that law enforcement agencies are coordinating closely to track down the assailants.
“Security forces and police are conducting a joint operation,” DIG Khan said. “The area’s security has been put on high alert and the investigation is ongoing from all angles.”
The ambush is the latest in a series of targeted attacks on government officials along the strategic Miranshah-Bannu link road.
Chief Minister KP Sohail Afridi condemned the terrorist attack on the convoy and expressed grief over the martyrdom of the Assistant Commissioner, two policemen and a passerby. “The sacrifices of the martyrs would not go in vain and those responsible would be brought to justice,” he said.
The Chief Minister has requested the Superintendent of Police for a detailed report on the incident and directed that the injured be given immediate, high-quality medical treatment.
Afridi added that the provincial government stands with the families of the martyrs and is giving them all possible support.
Read: Three terrorists killed in North Waziristan and Tank districts
Just weeks earlier, on November 4, the convoy of North Waziristan District Police Officer (DPO) Waqar Khan was targeted on the same route. In that attack, gunmen lying in wait opened fire with automatic and heavy weapons. The DPO escaped unhurt in his bulletproof vehicle, but five policemen were injured.
Security forces have intensified operations in the region to counter the threat posed by the banned group Fitna al-Khawarij. In recent intelligence-based operations in North Waziristan and Tank Districts, security forces killed three terrorists, including two Afghan nationals identified as Qasim and Ikramuddin alias Abu Dajana.
Officials have repeatedly pointed to the involvement of Afghan nationals in cross-border terrorist activities, with the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) urging the interim Afghan government to deny terrorists use of its soil.
