A policeman was killed while responding to an attack on the Shahbaz Khel check post in the Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where they were ambushed by a group of terrorists, the police said on Sunday. One terrorist was also killed during the shootout.

“Terrorists started firing at the Shahbaz Khel police check post from several sides with automatic weapons at [Saturday] night,” Lakki Marwat police spokesman Shahid Hameed said. “Latest weapons including rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), seven rocket launchers, and hand grenades were also used.”

The incident comes against the backdrop of a rise in terror activities after the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban called off the shaky ceasefire agreement with the government and ordered its group members to stage nationwide attacks. The outlawed group has been attacking the police for being a “soft target”.

Tehseen Ullah was the policeman killed in the gun battle with the terrorists.

A search operation was under way in the area, the statement said, adding that the terrorist killed was identified as Owais. He was wanted by the Bannu’s counter-terrorism department for cases pertaining to attacks on security forces and the police. Weapons were recovered from the site.

The funeral prayers of the policeman killed were performed with official honours at the district police office. A smartly-turned out contingent of police paid tribute to the martyred policeman. Members of the police, civil, and army were present.

“The blood of martyr will not go in vain,” Lakki Marwat District Police Officer Ziauddin Ahmed said while meeting with the family of Tehseen Ullah.

“Terrorist elements cannot demoralize us with such actions,” the DPO added as he paid homage to the deceased policeman. “Terrorism is taking its last breath by playing with the life of the policemen.”

Ahmed vowed to continue the fight this war till the elimination of terrorists.

Pakistan’s police casualty of terrorism, reported on the eve of the New Year 2023, was second a day after police constable Muzammil Shah in Umarzai, the town of Charsadda. It is 200 kilometres away from Bargi of the district where four policemen were killed and four got injured in an exchange of fire with suspected terrorists when the latter descended on a police station.

Lakki Marwat and neighbouring Bannu district have been the hotspots in the northwest province after a rise in terrorist activities in Pakistan. The CTD centre in Bannu was cleared after a four-day siege where militants took law-enforcers hostage at the facility.

A soldier of the army was martyred whereas four terrorists were killed by the security forces during an intelligence based operation (IBO) conducted in the Jani Khel area of Bannu, the armed forces media wing said on Saturday.

“An intense fire exchange took place between own troops and terrorists during the conduct of the operation,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

“The army troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location,” it said, adding that weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the crime scene. The statement claimed that the deceased terrorist remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces and the killing of innocent citizens.

The martyred soldier was identified as Khairpur resident Sepoy Muhammad Wasim, 25. The sanitization of the area was being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area.

Reacting to the check post incident, many social media users paid tribute to the KP police.

“Hats off to the martyred police constable, [the] nation is indebted to his sacrifice,” the Twitter user said.