DSP among seven personnel martyred in Hangu checkpost attack: police

• DSP Diyar Khan among personnel martyred: DPO Tariq.
• At least 18 police personnel injured in militant attack.
• Operation against terrorists continues in Hangu: police.
  

At least seven police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), were martyred after terrorists attacked the Khazina Banda police checkpost in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, District Police Officer (DPO) Tariq Habib said on Wednesday.

According to the DPO, 22 police personnel, including DSP Mujahid Hussain, were also injured in the militants’ attack.

He further said that eight terrorists were also killed while six others got injured in retaliatory fire.

The DPO added that a clearance operation against the terrorists was continuing in the area.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terror activities, particularly in its KP and Balochistan provinces, since 2021, when the Afghan Taliban came into power.

Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration to rein in terrorist groups. After Islamabad said Kabul failed to fulfil its responsibility, it launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq in February this year in response to cross-border militant attacks from Afghanistan.

The latest terror incident comes hours after the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that security forces have eliminated 32 India-backed terrorists during operations conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan over the last 24 hours.

A report by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) showed KP and Balochistan were the epicentres of violence, with the former recording as the worst hit region, during the second quarter of 2026.

Jointly, the two provinces accounted for almost 96% of all violence-linked fatalities, with over 61% (475) recorded in the former and 34% (265) in the latter province, according to the report.

KP recorded the highest number of violent incidents in the second quarter, with 151 cases (57%), followed by Balochistan with 94 incidents (35%), accounting for the majority of reported violence.