On Thursday, a series of attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan resulted in the martyrdom of at least six security personnel, amidst a significant voter turnout across the country amid an internet and cellular outage. The decision to block mobile network services was attributed to the prevailing security situation.
In KP’s Dera Ismail Khan district, four police officials were martyred when a police patrol was targeted by bomb blasts and firing in the Kulachi area, according to local police chief Rauf Qaisrani. The area was cordoned off, and investigations were ongoing. Meanwhile, one person was reportedly killed in a separate firing incident in Tank.
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Interim KP Chief Minister Justice (retd) Arshad Hussain Shah condemned the attacks, affirming that they would not deter law enforcement agencies from their duties and emphasizing the nation’s solidarity with them.
In Balochistan’s Kharan district, two Levies and police personnel were martyred when a Levies vehicle hit a landmine while en route to a polling station. Seven security personnel sustained injuries, with critical cases transferred to Quetta for treatment, as confirmed by district deputy commissioner Munir Ahmed Soomro.
In a separate development, Mohsin Dawar, Chairman of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja regarding the precarious security situation in Tappi, North Waziristan in NA-40. Dawar expressed concerns over threats issued by militants to locals and polling staff, stating that Taliban had allegedly taken control of polling stations, endangering the safety of polling agents.
These incidents come amid an escalation of terrorism in Pakistan, particularly in KP and Balochistan. Recent attacks include back-to-back blasts outside election offices in Balochistan’s Qila Saifullah and Pishin, as well as a gun attack targeting JUI-F leader Hafiz Hamdullah’s vehicle. Amnesty International and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights have expressed profound concerns over the violence, with a significant increase in violence-related fatalities and terror attacks reported in 2023, primarily concentrated in KP and Balochistan.
