Seven personnel of Punjab Police were injured after terrorists equipped with heavy weaponry attacked Jhangi (Hazrat Umer Farooq) checkpost in Taunsa district’s Wahova tehsil, Dera Ghazi Khan, in the wee hours of Wednesday.
This was the third assault on the post in as many months by the militants of a banned organisation.
Jhangi checkpost is situated on Punjab-Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa inter-provincial border.
Around 15 to 20 terrorists, taking advantage of the darkness at night, launched a fierce assault from multiple directions, utilising latest weaponry, including rocket launchers, grenades and laser light guns.
The militants wanted to capture the Jhangi checkpost or take the deputed personnel hostage.
The Punjab Police had already been alerted after receiving a tipoff. The police personnel fought for more than four hours and successfully repulsed the attack, forcing the terrorists to flee after they ran out of ammunition.
The checkpost building and police vehicles were also damaged in the attack.
Among those injured were ASI Imran, Constables Mohammad Aamir, Aashiq Zain, Rehmatullah, Sanaullah, Elite Force Constables Tariq, and Shahid Manzoor.
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The injured were shifted to Wahova Hospital whereas Manzoor, who was critically wounded, was sent to Nishtar Hospital Multan for treatment.
The regional police officer (RPO) and district police officer (DPO) had visited the checkpost two days ago to brief the stationed personnel of the looming threat of attack and to rehearse defensive strategies.
The Jhangi checkpost had already been provided with additional personnel, essential equipment and weaponry.
Punjab IG Dr Usman Anwar arrived at the Jhangi checkpost and met with the stationed police officials, awarding them a cash reward of Rs50,000 each. Additionally, he announced Rs100,000 compensation for each injured police official.
Addressing the media, Dr Anwar emphasised that such cowardly acts would not dampen the morale of the Punjab Police.
“The jawans of Punjab Police valiantly repulsed the attack. We will pursue criminals in Punjab,” he said.
The Punjab IG maintained that they had received intelligence report of the attack which prompted proactive measures.
He directed the RPO and DPO DG Khan to provide best medical facilities to the injured personnel.
On Monday, an alert was sounded following intelligence reports of potential terrorist attacks targeting the inter-provincial checkpost.
The inter-provincial checkpost faced an attack by terrorists on December 14, 2023.
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