Authorities have launched a search operation in the area to catch the attackers and ensure the safety of local residents. The incident comes amid a recent surge in terrorism across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Just a day earlier, at least seven police personnel were martyred when an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted their armoured vehicle on Gomal Bazaar road in Tank district.
The police officers killed in Tank included SHO Ishaq Ahmed Khan, Additional SHO Sher Aslam, driver Abdul Majeed, and Elite Force personnel Arshad Ali, Shaukat Ali, Hazrat Ali, and Ehsanullah. The identity of a civilian passerby killed in the blast could not be confirmed.
This is not the first attack on peace committee members in Bannu. On November 21 last year, seven members of the committee were shot dead by terrorists in the Hoveed area. Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, cross-border attacks have risen sharply, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, both bordering Afghanistan, being the hardest hit.
Highlighting the scale of the challenge, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a press briefing earlier this month that law enforcement agencies carried out 75,175 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) across the country in 2025. Out of these, 14,658 were in KP, 58,778 in Balochistan, and 1,739 in other provinces.
Lt. Gen. Chaudhry added that 5,397 terrorism incidents were reported nationwide last year, with 3,811 in KP and 1,557 in Balochistan.
Counterterrorism operations resulted in the deaths of 2,597 terrorists. He noted that civilians and soft targets were deliberately attacked, with Afghan militants involved in all major incidents.
