Five Pakistani policemen were killed on Tuesday after their vehicle was ambushed by explosives and gunfire in the country’s northwest. The attack took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, even as separatist and Islamist militant groups separately claimed a series of deadly attacks on Pakistani security forces in Balochistan and Sindh.
What happened when the police van was hijacked?
Pakistan’s provincial police said the officers were traveling in a van in Karak district when the vehicle was first hit by an improvised explosive device, prompting the attackers to open fire.
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The explosion and gunfire killed four policemen and a driver, officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
The district, which lies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has largely avoided major militant violence in recent years, making the incident particularly alarming for security agencies.
How did the Pakistani leadership react?
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and praised the role of the police in fighting the militants.
“The police have always played a leading role in the war against terrorism,” Sharif said.
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Security officials said investigations are underway to identify those responsible for the attack.
Why is violence on the rise in northwest Pakistan?
The attack comes at a time of deteriorating relations between Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan following an increase in militant violence along the border.
Islamabad blames the renewed attacks on militant groups operating allegedly from Afghan territory. Kabul has denied the allegations and insists that Pakistan’s security problems are an internal matter.
Pakistan’s mountainous border regions have long been home to militants linked to the PKK, which has waged an insurgency against the state for nearly two decades.
What is happening in Balochistan?
Separately, the Baloch Liberation Army said its fighters killed six Pakistani soldiers in three coordinated attacks across Balochistan, according to a report by The Balochistan Post.
BLA spokesman Jeeyand Baloch said in a statement that the militants carried out a remote-controlled IED attack in Daghari area on the outskirts of Quetta, killing four soldiers who were “collected after clearing the railway line” and injuring two others.
He said a second attack later that evening targeted soldiers in the Kalamuddin area of Dhadar in Kachhi district, where militants reportedly used automatic weapons and rockets as the soldiers were leaving their posts.
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The third attack, the group claimed, took place late Friday night in Saami in the Kulag area of Kech district, where rockets and automatic weapons were used against a Pakistani army post, killing two soldiers and causing other damage.
Which other militant groups have claimed responsibility for the attacks?
The Balochistan Liberation Front also claimed responsibility for four attacks carried out between December 18 and 20 in Nushki, Tump and Dasht, again according to The Balochistan Post.
BLF spokesman Major Gwahram Baloch said militants attacked a vehicle of Pakistani forces with an IED in the Zarrin Jungle area of Nushki, killing three people and injuring two others. He said the vehicle was “destroyed”.
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He added that on December 19, BLF fighters shot down a quadcopter in Tumpu’s Malant area and later fired grenade launchers at a nearby army camp, causing what he described as “loss of lives and material losses”.
In another incident, the BLF said it destroyed equipment on a Ufone cell tower in the Shay Zangi area of Dasht, claiming it was being used for surveillance.
Has there been violence outside of Balochistan?
Yes. The Baloch Republican Guards claimed responsibility for the attack on a police station in the Bhit Shah area of Sindh’s Hyderabad district, according to the same report.
BRG spokesman Dostain Baloch said militants hurled a hand grenade at the station, causing what he called “human and material casualties” to the police. He said the group would continue its operations “until the freedom of Balochistan”.
