Deputy Commissioner Shah Wali’s assassination marks second official targeted on Miranshah-Bannu road in a month
The burnt wreckage of deputy commissioner Shah Wali’s vehicle on Miranshah Road on Tuesday. PHOTO: EXPRESS
KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA/BANNU:
North Waziristan Deputy Commissioner Shah Wali and three others were killed on Tuesday when unidentified assailants ambushed their vehicle on Miranshah road, police and district officials said.
The deputy commissioner was traveling from Miranshah to Bannu as part of his official duties. According to police, assailants on motorcycles opened fire on the vehicle before setting it on fire and fleeing.
The burnt wreckage of deputy commissioner Shah Wali’s vehicle on Miranshah Road on Tuesday. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Police confirmed that four people were killed in the attack. They were identified as AC Shah Wali, Constable Syed Rehman, Constable Sher Rehman and a passerby, Aziz-ur-Rehman.
Two other police officers, identified as Officers Faheem and Rais, were seriously injured in the attack and were immediately transferred to Bannu Hospital for medical treatment.
A contingent of police and security forces arrived at the scene, cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. Police described the incident as a targeted attack.
Confirming the beefed-up security, DIG Bannu Sajjad Khan said law enforcement agencies are coordinating closely to trace the attackers.
“Security forces and police are carrying out a joint operation,” DIG Khan said. “Security in the area has been placed on high alert and the investigation continues from all angles.”
The ambush is the latest in a series of targeted attacks on state officials along the strategic Miranshah-Bannu road.
Chief Minister KP Sohail Afridi condemned the terrorist attack on the convoy and expressed sadness over the martyrdom of the deputy commissioner, two policemen and a passerby. “The sacrifices of the martyrs will not be in vain and those responsible will be brought to justice,” he said.
The chief minister sought a detailed report of the incident from the Inspector General of Police and ordered that the injured be given immediate and high-quality medical treatment.
Afridi added that the provincial government stood with the families of the martyrs, providing them with all possible support.
Read: Three terrorists killed in North Waziristan and Tank districts
A few weeks earlier, on November 4, the convoy of North Waziristan District Police Officer (DPO) Waqar Khan was targeted on the same route. During this attack, armed men lying in wait opened fire with automatic and heavy weapons. The DPO escaped unhurt in his bulletproof vehicle, but five police officers were injured.
Security forces have stepped up operations in the region to counter the threat posed by the banned group Fitna al-Khawarij. In recent intelligence operations in North Waziristan and Tank districts, security forces killed three terrorists, including two Afghan nationals identified as Qasim and Ikramuddin alias Abu Dajana.
Officials have repeatedly highlighted the involvement of Afghan nationals in cross-border terrorist activities, with the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) urging the interim Afghan government to deny the use of its soil to terrorists.
