PESHAWAR: At least two policemen were killed on Friday when a convoy of local judges came under attack in northwestern Pakistan, a police official confirmed, as the country grapples with a surge in militant attacks, particularly in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province bordering Afghanistan.
Pakistan has faced deadly attacks by the banned militant conglomerate Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) since an uneasy truce between them collapsed in November 2022.
The network, whose leadership is reportedly based in neighboring Afghanistan, has targeted civilians and security forces with impunity since its inception in 2007, prompting the military to launch multiple operations to dislodge its fighters from the country’s northwestern tribal region.
This is not the first time the lives of district judges have been endangered by militants operating in KP. Last April, Judge Shakirullah Marwat was abducted by unidentified kidnappers near a village at the junction of Tank and Dera Ismail (DI) Khan districts but was recovered after a few days.
“Two policemen have been killed who were part of the judges’ security squad,” District Police Officer Abdul Salam Khalid told Arab News on Friday. “The attack on the convoy occurred at the junction of Tank and DI Khan.”
The police official said two judges were traveling in separate cars from Dera Ismail Khan to South Waziristan when their convoy was ambushed by unidentified militants. He added more details related to the incident would be shared after the investigation was completed.
Meanwhile, Regional Police Officer Nasir Mehmood said the attack was not aimed at the judges but was instead carried out to target the police personnel.
“Attacks on police and law enforcement agencies occur on and off in the region,” he added.
Reacting to the attack, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur described the targeting of judges and police as a “sad and condemnable” act, directing the authorities to submit a detailed report on the incident.
The province has witnessed a major increase in militant violence, with two policemen and a civilian killed this week in an attack on a police checkpoint in Khyber district.
Earlier in July, 10 soldiers and five civilians lost their lives in two separate attacks in the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan districts of KP.
In the first attack, the army reported that a group of 10 militants attempted to enter the cantonment in Bannu in the early hours of July 15, while in the second attack, militants opened fire on rural health center staff.
In February, 10 policemen were killed and six others injured in an attack on the Chodwan police station in Dera Ismail Khan, a district that remains one of the most dangerous parts of KP due to frequent militant attacks.
Pakistan has blamed the recent surge in militant violence on the Taliban administration in Afghanistan, which it says facilitates groups like the TTP. Kabul denies allowing its territory to be used by armed militants and maintains that Pakistan’s security issues are a domestic matter.
Two policemen killed as judges’ convoy attacked by militants in northwestern Pakistan
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Two policemen killed as judges’ convoy attacked by militants in northwestern Pakistan
- Both judges remain safe in the shooting incident at a junction between Tank and Dera Ismail Khan
- A senior police official in the area says the militants primarily wanted to target the police personnel
Pakistan’s PIA to resume London flights from Mar. 29 after six-year gap
- Newly privatized airline says will operate four weekly flights from Islamabad to London
- PIA is already operating three fllights per week to British city Manchester, says airline
ISLAMABAD: The newly privatized Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will operate direct flights to London starting Mar. 29, 2026, after six years, its spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday.
The PIA resumed its flight operations to the UK in October this year with its inaugural flight to Manchester. The airline is currently operating three weekly flights to the British city.
Britain lifted restrictions on Pakistani carriers in July, nearly half a decade after grounding them following a 2020 PIA Airbus A320 crash in Karachi that killed 97 people. The disaster was followed by claims of irregularities in pilot licensing, which led to bans in the US, UK and the European Union.
“Pakistan International Airlines has announced the expansion of its operations in the United Kingdom with the resumption of flights to London,” the airline’s spokesperson said in a statement.
“Starting Mar. 29, PIA will operate four weekly flights from Islamabad to London.”
The airline said that the London flights will be operated from Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4, which it said is recognized as one of its most modern terminals.
“London was PIA’s very first international destination and remains one of its most important and attractive routes,” the spokesperson said.
Pakistan’s government succeeded in its frequent efforts to privatize the airline this month after a consortium, led by Arif Habib Group, on Dec. 23 secured a 75 percent stake in PIA for Rs135 billion ($482 million) after several rounds of bidding, valuing the airline at Rs180 billion ($643 million).
The sale marked Pakistan’s most aggressive attempt in decades to reform the debt-ridden national airline, which had accumulated more than $2.8 billion in financial losses. The government said it would end decades of state-funded bailouts and help revive the airline.
In an exclusive interview with Arab News this week, the airline’s new owner Arif Habib said he plans to renovate PIA planes, improve maintenance and flight schedule, and bring in new aircraft to revive the carrier.
Habib said he sees the region comprising the UK, the US and Canada as a “lucrative market” for the airline’s business.
“There we can increase the frequency of the flight,” he said. “We will also try to run flights to Canada from Karachi, Lahore, and I think it’s already in Islamabad.”
