Four anti-terror volunteers killed in Bannu ambush

Four members of a local peace committee were killed on Tuesday when unidentified gunmen ambushed their car in Bannu district of the volatile Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, a day after six policemen were martyred in a bomb attack in the neighbouring Tank district.

The security situation in K-P, which shares a long border with Afghanistan, remains precarious amid unabated infiltration of terrorists from across the border. Officials say Afghanistan continues to serve as a safe haven for terrorist groups of various hues.

"Khawarij attackers lay in wait for the vehicle carrying the peace committee members in the Huwed area of Bannu. They opened fire as soon as the vehicle approached, killing all four occupants on the spot," a senior police official told The Express Tribune.

The term Khawarij is used for fighters of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), officially designated as Fitna al-Khawarij to highlight the group's extremist, regressive and exclusionary ideology.

The official said a father and his son were among the victims, adding that an investigation into the incident had been launched.

Local sources said peace committee members in the area had taken up arms in self-defence in response to persistent terrorist threats, a development that has contributed to heightened tensions in and around Bannu in recent months.

Attacks on peace committee members in K-P have increased in both frequency and intensity, as terrorist groups view them as collaborators with the government. In November 2025, seven people were killed when a peace committee office was targeted in Bannu. Earlier, in October, a peace committee member was killed during a clash with militants in the Ahmadzai area.

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack, expressing deep sorrow over the martyrdom of the four peace committee members. He offered condolences to the bereaved families and reaffirmed the government's resolve to eliminate terrorism from the province.

"The cowardly actions of terrorists cannot weaken the nation's resolve," he said, adding that all attempts to disrupt peace would be thwarted.

Terrorist incidents have surged in K-P and Balochistan since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, with K-P bearing over 80 per cent of the attacks, followed by Balochistan, where officials say India-backed groups are waging a proxy war.

Meanwhile, the military's media wing said four terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Kalat district of Balochistan. According to the ISPR, the operation was conducted against militants belonging to the Indian proxy group Fitna al Hindustan.

"During the operation, security forces effectively engaged the terrorists' hideout, and after an intense exchange of fire, four Indian-sponsored terrorists were sent to hell," the statement said, adding that weapons and ammunition were also recovered.

The ISPR said sanitisation operations were ongoing and vowed that the counterterrorism campaign under Azm-e-Istehkam would continue at full pace to eradicate foreign-sponsored terrorism from the country.