PESHAWAR: The Pakistani Taliban killed at least five police officers and wounded six others in multiple attacks in the country’s northwest, police said Friday.
There were at least five separate attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a police official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The killings were claimed by the Pakistani Taliban — known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — which in mid-March announced a “spring campaign” against the security forces.
The group has since claimed responsibility for more than 80 attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a mountainous province along the porous Afghan border.
Qasim Ali, police chief in the provincial capital Peshawar, said “there has been a noticeable rise in attacks on the police” recently.
Such incidents are a daily occurrence in the region, where the military regularly says it kills “terrorists.”
Ali reported attacks against police in nine district over just two days since TTP announced its offensive, saying the force has responded with more counterterrorism operations.
More than 170 people, mostly security personnel, have been killed in militant attacks against the state in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and neighboring Balochistan province since the beginning of this year, according to an AFP tally.
Balochistan saw a dramatic train siege this month which officials said resulted in around 60 deaths, half of which were separatists behind the assault.
Last year was the deadliest year in almost a decade, with more than 1,600 people killed in attacks in Pakistan — nearly half of them security forces personnel — according to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies.
The violence is largely limited to Pakistan’s border regions with Afghanistan.
Islamabad accuses Kabul of failing to counter militants operating from its territory that are targeting Pakistan, an allegation the Taliban authorities deny.
Pakistan Taliban kill five police officers in multiple attacks
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Pakistan Taliban kill five police officers in multiple attacks
- The group announced a ‘spring campaign’ against the security forces earlier this month
- Militant attacks have so far claimed over 170 lives in Pakistan’s western provinces this year
Pakistan vows to play active role against climate change on International Day of Clean Energy
- Governments, civil societies every year mark Jan. 26 as International Day of Clean Energy, calling for inclusive transition to clean power
- Pakistan ranks among nations most vulnerable to climate change, suffering from erratic weather patterns such as floods, heatwaves, storms
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will play an active role in global efforts against climate change, President Asif Ali Zardari vowed on Monday as the world marks International Day of Clean Energy today.
The International Day of Clean Energy is marked every year on Jan. 26 during which governments and civil societies around the world call for awareness on climate change impacts and demand action for a just and inclusive transition to clean energy for the benefit of the people.
Burdened by an energy crisis that has resulted in costly fuel imports over the past couple of years, Pakistan has sought to shift to clean energy to place less burden on its fragile economy. The South Asian country has emerged as one of the world’s fastest growing solar markets, with 12 gigawatts (GWs) of off-grid and over 6GWs of net-metered solar capacity by the end of 2025. In the last fiscal year, renewables accounted for a historic 53 percent of total electricity generation, according to the prime minister’s coordinator on climate change, Romina Khurshid Alam.
“Pakistan will play an active role in global efforts against climate change,” Zardari was quoted in a statement released by his office. “Investment in safe technologies is essential for the protection of the planet.”
Zardari stressed that clean energy is essential for inclusive development, noting that Pakistan has made the transition toward it a “national priority.”
He said clean energy occupies a central place in the government’s policy framework, adding that Pakistan has set a target of electric vehicles comprising 30 percent of all passenger vehicles and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030.
The Pakistani president cited air pollution as a major challenge to public health in the country, noting its social and economic costs for the government and the people.
“Pakistan is committed to building a reliable and sustainable energy system,” he said.
Pakistan ranks among nations most vulnerable to climate change and has seen erratic changes in its weather patterns that have led to frequent heatwaves, untimely rains, storms, cyclones, floods and droughts in recent years.
In 2022, monsoon floods killed over 1,700 people, displaced another 33 million and caused over $30 billion losses. Over 1,000 people were killed in floods last year as well due to torrential monsoon rains and floods triggered by climate change impacts and excess water released by Indian dams.
