PESHAWAR: Unidentified assailants on Tuesday shot dead a senior journalist, Khalil Jibran, in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, a police official said, in the latest incident of violence in the restive region during the three-day Eid Al-Adha holiday.
The northwestern Pakistani province, which borders Afghanistan, has been the scene of a number of attacks on police, security forces and anti-polio vaccination teams in recent weeks.
Jibran, a former president of the Landi Kotal Press club in KP’s Khyber tribal district, was en route to his home in the district headquarters of Landi Kotal, when he came under attack by the suspects.
“He [Jibran] was coming back from his friend’s hujra [guest room] after dinner when he was killed by unknown assailants,” Saleem Abbas Kulachi, Khyber district police chief, told Arab News
“Police found bullet shells of M4 and AK-47 [rifles] at the scene,” he added.
The development came days after the Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) announced a three-day ceasefire with the government in Islamabad from June 17 till June 19 on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha.
KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur condemned Jibran’s killing and extended his heartfelt sympathies to the deceased’s family, according to his office.
“Police have been asked to take necessary action for immediate arrest of the suspects,” it said.
Journalist bodies have announced a protest against Jibran’s killing across all tribal districts of the province on Thursday.
Separately, three bodies were found in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan tribal district, while a religious party leader, who was injured in a shooting in the South Waziristan district last week, succumbed to his wounds on Tuesday, according to officials. No group claimed responsibility for the killings.
Pakistan has witnessed a spike in militant violence in its two western provinces, KP and Balochistan, since the TTP called off its fragile truce with the government in November 2022.
Islamabad has blamed the surge in violence on militants operating out of neighboring Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegation and says rising violence in Pakistan is a domestic issue of Islamabad.
Senior journalist shot dead in northwest Pakistan over Eid holiday
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Senior journalist shot dead in northwest Pakistan over Eid holiday
- Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has been the scene of a number of attacks on police, security forces in recent weeks
- Islamabad has blamed the surge in violence on militants operating out of neighboring Afghanistan, Kabul denies the allegation
Over 200 security forces personnel killed in Balochistan militant attacks in 2025— chief minister
- Pakistani security forces launched thousands of operations, killed 760 militants, says Sarfraz Bugti
- Pakistan’s military media wing says 12 “Indian-sponsored militants” killed in Balochistan’s Kalat district
ISLAMABAD: Over 200 security forces personnel were killed in several militant attacks in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province this year, Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Sunday.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by since yet its most backward by almost all social and economic indicators, has suffered from a bloody separatist insurgency for decades launched by ethnic Baloch militant groups. The most prominent among them is the Balochistan Liberation Army.
These militant outfits accuse the military and federal government of denying the local Baloch population a share in the province’s mineral wealth, charges Islamabad denies.
“We have lost [in one year] 205 security forces personnel, including paramilitary, uniformed, police, levies, and along with that, there are six officers,” Bugti told reporters during a press conference.
The chief minister said Balochistan had witnessed 900 militant attacks throughout the year, adding that the number of civilian casualties was recorded at 280.
Bugti said security forces had also launched thousands of intelligence-based operations in 2025 against militants.
“Out of those, the terrorists who have been killed so far, that is 760,” he said.
TWELVE MILITANTS KILLED IN KALAT
Separately, the Pakistani military’s media wing said on Sunday that security forces had killed 12 “Indian-sponsored militants” in Balochistan’s Kalat district on Dec. 6.
It said the militants belonged to Indian proxy “Fitna al Hindustan,” a term the military uses frequently to describe ethnic Baloch militant groups who demand independence from Pakistan. Islamabad accuses New Delhi of arming and funding these separatist groups, charges India has always denied.
“Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,” the ISPR said.
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan, has seen a surge in militant attacks in recent months. Pakistan’s military said on Saturday that security forces had killed five militants in the Dera Bugti area of the province.
