Policeman martyred, FC officer injured in gun attack on polio team in KP's Tank district

Published
18
A photo of the casket of the policeman who was martyred in a gun attack on a polio team in Tank district on Saturday. — Photo by author
A photo of the casket of the policeman who was martyred in a gun attack on a polio team in Tank district on Saturday. — Photo by author

A policeman was martyred and an officer of frontier constabulary (FC) injured in a gun attack on a polio team in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Tank district on Saturday, an official confirmed.

Tank District Police Officer (DPO) Sajjad Ahmed told Dawn.com that police and FC personnel were guarding the polio teams in the Chadrar area situated on main Wana Road when gunmen opened fire.

"The gunmen, who were on a motorbike, targeted police personnel guarding the [polio] team," the DPO said, adding that Havaldar Iqbal died of bullet wounds and FC officer Ritaj Khan was injured.

He said the gunmen managed to escape after the crime.

Following the attack, police and other security personnel reached the area and launched a search operation to catch the assailants, DPO Ahmed said.

He said the injured FC officer was transferred to District Headquarters Hospital Tank, while the funeral of the deceased policeman was held at police headquarters.

The DPO said polio team members were unhurt and their security was increased after the attack, adding that police and Counter Terrorism Department have launched an investigation.

The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement issued by its spokesman Mohammad Khurasani.

If true, it would mark the TTP's first attack since the expiry of a month-long ceasefire.

The DPO, however, said that he was unable to comment on the TTP's claim.


Additional input from The Associated Press.

Opinion

Editorial

Risks ahead
Updated 02 Oct, 2026

Risks ahead

To think that the government would rather push out an elected government than grant a single prisoner some facilities does not square up rationally.
Exit from Iraq
02 Oct, 2026

Exit from Iraq

AMERICAN and British troops have once again shipped out of Iraq. On Wednesday, the foreign forces left the Arab...
Lahore’s ozone warning
02 Oct, 2026

Lahore’s ozone warning

LAHORE has received another warning that its air pollution crisis cannot be treated as a problem that begins with...
Fixing bond markets
Updated 01 Oct, 2026

Fixing bond markets

Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, retail investors, and eventually, foreign investors must become bigger participants in the market.
Call centre rackets
01 Oct, 2026

Call centre rackets

A NUMBER of recent raids conducted by the authorities in different cities point to the growing threat fraudulent ...
Homeward bound
01 Oct, 2026

Homeward bound

FIVE months after Somali pirates captured an oil tanker carrying a 19-member multinational crew, Somali maritime...