Abducted policemen recovered with help of tribal elders in Bannu

• Jirga helps free cops without ransom, conditions. 
• Seven policemen were abducted a day earlier. 
• Abductors took cops to undisclosed location. 

BANNU: The seven policemen, who were abducted by unidentified armed men from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Bannu district a day earlier, were rescued with the help of tribal leaders, said District Police Officer (DPO) Ziauddin on Tuesday. 

According to DPO Ziauddin, the jirga successfully freed the police personnel from the abductors without giving any ransom or under any condition.

A day earlier, the policemen were abducted from the Ahmedzai sub-division in Bannu after armed men seized the control of the Rocha checkpost. 

The DPO had said that a search operation was launched to catch the kidnappers after cordoning off the area.

The incident took place after maghrib prayer when a group of armed men took the policemen hostage at a checkpost, DPO Ziauddin said, adding that the cops were shifted to an undisclosed location along with their weapons.

The abducted policemen were Saleem, Aqal Rehman, Mewah Jan, Roshan, Abdul Malik, Neematullah and Shad Muhammad.

There has been an increase in incidents of abduction of police personnel and attacks on law enforcement agencies in the northwestern region of the country.

In the latest incident earlier this month, unidentified gunmen kidnapped a police constable from his home in the jurisdiction of Bakakhel Police Station of the Bannu district.

Pakistan continues to battle militancy as terrorist activities grow across the country, especially in KP and Balochistan, since the Taliban takeover of bordering Afghanistan.

As per a report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the third quarter (July-September) of 2024 saw a sharp increase in fatalities of terrorist violence and counter-terrorism campaigns, with a 90% surge in violence.

A total of 722 people were killed, including civilians, security personnel, and outlaws, while 615 others were wounded in as many as 328 incidents recorded during the period under review.

Nearly 97% of these fatalities occurred in KP and Balochistan — marking the highest percentage in a decade, and over 92% of these incidents of terror attacks and security forces’ operations were recorded in the same provinces.