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The ambush occurred yesterday and is the latest in a long series of episodes. News broke today of the death of a Taliban leader in an attack. Since the Afghan “cousins” took power, terrorist attacks have increased by more than 50% in Pakistan.
Islamabad ( / Agencies) – At least six Pakistani policemen were massacred this morning in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in northwestern Pakistan. Shortly after, the attack was claimed by the group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Taliban of Pakistan. The police vehicle was riddled with gunshots while in the town of Lakki Marwat, some 200 km from Peshawar.
It is the fourth such attack in recent weeks, and also one of the deadliest, according to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS). Based on the data collected by this team of experts, in 2022, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, there were at least 65 similar armed attacks, with a balance of 98 deaths and 75 injuries. Since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Kabul last year, terrorist attacks have increased 51% in Pakistan.
Two other agents lost their lives last night in an armed confrontation on the border with Afghanistan. The Pakistani army reported that a “terrorist” who “operated against the security forces” was also killed in the incident.
Yesterday, in a separate statement, the Pakistani Taliban had claimed that three members of the group were killed in an attack carried out by US drones in the Dera Ismail Khan district, located in the same province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The media could not independently verify the information, but the day before the province’s anti-terror brigade had confirmed the deaths of four terrorists, while news came today of the death of a TTP commander in Paktia province. He allegedly was attacked by an unknown person.
The Pakistani Taliban are affiliated with the Afghan Taliban organization but operate against Pakistani state institutions, with the aim of enforcing sharia law. In May of this year, the TTP had agreed to extend the ceasefire until the end of the month, which was then renewed in June. Peace talks were held in Kabul, thanks to the mediation of the Afghan “cousins”. However, no real peace was ever achieved because the demands put forward by the TTP are unrealizable: they call for the release of all their fighters and the withdrawal of Pakistani government forces from the tribal regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The analyst and director of PIPS Amir Rana, in dialogue with Al Jazeera explained that the TTP considers its attacks to be defensive maneuvers: “Every time reports of kidnapping or extortion are received, the security forces deploy operations that, according to the TTP, are a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement, and the Taliban Then they come,” he said.
