PESHAWAR: Pakistani police said on Friday they killed a highly wanted militant commander in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, buried secretly by comrades after the shootout and later exhumed by authorities for identification.
Militant attacks across KP have surged since November 2022, when a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the government collapsed.
Lakki Marwat, where the incident took place, is situated on the edge of Pakistan’s tribal belt bordering Afghanistan and has seen frequent assaults by the TTP.
“A highly wanted TTP commander Sher Alam was killed in the Wanda Panjma area of the district in an intelligence-based targeted operation,” Bannu Regional Police Officer’s spokesperson Aamir Khan told Arab News.
“Following his death in an encounter with the police, the militant was buried secretly by his colleagues,” he said. “However, police subsequently exhumed his body to identify him. Later, he was confirmed as Sher Alam.”
Khan said Alam was a native of Kichi Kamar, a rundown locality of the district, and held a significant position within the militant organization. He added that RPO Bannu, Sajjad Khan, had directed security forces to deal firmly with militants who take up arms against the state.
At least 75 policemen were killed in ambushes and targeted attacks in the province last year, according to police data.
KP police killed another suspected militant commander in September during an intelligence-based operation in Lakki Marwat. He was wanted for bomb attacks and targeted killings of policemen.
Bannu itself witnessed a major attack on a Frontier Constabulary base this month when a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden car into the facility, triggering a gunbattle that lasted about 12 hours and left six security personnel and six militants dead.
Islamabad has accused Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers of sheltering anti-Pakistan militants and India of backing insurgents in KP and Balochistan, allegations both Kabul and New Delhi deny.
