Policeman shot dead in crowded Bara bazaar

Force launches door-to-door search operation

BARA:

A police constable was shot dead in the crowded Bara Bazaar in the Khyber tribal district on Wednesday.

“Constable Darmarjan Zakha Khel was in the marketplace for buying grocery when two bike riders opened fire at him, killing him on the spot,” said a police official while talking to The Express Tribune.

The deceased was the resident of Landi Kotal and currently deployed at Levies Centre in Bara.

“The unidentified attackers managed to escape after committing the crime,” he added. A large contingent of police reached the site of the attack and cordoned off the entire locality.

They launched a door-to-door search operation but there was no sign of the attackers. The body of the slain policeman was sent to the hospital for autopsy and an FIR has been registered under Anti-Terrorism Act.

It may be mentioned here that Khyber tribal district is one of the most volatile districts of the K-P along with South and North Waziristan.

Terrorism incidents frequently occur across Khyber and police and security forces are the primary target.

K-P has registered a decline of 11.9 per cent in incidents of terrorism during the month of April 2023.

According to four months progress report issued by CTD, from January to April 2023, the incidents of terrorism have declined by 11.9 per cent. In the first four months of 2023, a total of 309 cases of terrorism were registered out of which 213 were traced and 124 arrests were made.

Around 54 proclaimed offenders (POs) including 15 carrying head money were arrested as compared to 42 POs in the same period in the year 2022. A total of 711 intelligence based operations were conducted in which 158 terrorists were arrested, the report said.

In 39 encounters with terrorists, 62 of them were neutralized and 53 attempts of committing terrorism were prevented through intelligence based operations wherein heavy recoveries of weapon and ammunition (53 cases) were made and 81 accused arrested.

Recoveries included 47 kg of explosives, 150 hand grenades, one suicide jacket, 105 arms and 2,822 rounds of different bores.

Conviction in eight cases were secured wherein eleven terrorists have been convicted as a result of successful investigation.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2023.