ISLAMABAD: Authorities in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province have imposed a partial curfew in Tank district, they said late Thursday, following a militant attack on a security check-post in the area.
KP, which borders Afghanistan, has seen a surge in militancy in recent years, with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups frequently targeting police and security forces’ convoys and check-posts.
The latest attack targeted the Manjhi Khel check-post in Tank on Thursday night, though officials have not released details about the number and identities of the dead and injured. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack either.
“In view of the prevailing law & order situation in the area and in the interest of public safety, maintenance of law and order, and smooth administration, it is necessary to impose ban restrictions,” Deputy Commissioner Jamshed Khan’s office said in a notification.
Khan announced a ban on the movement of individuals and all types of traffic on Dabara-Tank Bypass and Tank Bypass-Ranwal-Manjhi Khel-Bhagowal routes and Ranwal Bazzar from 6am till 6pm “till further orders.”
However, law enforcement agencies, emergency services like ambulances and fire brigades as well as persons and vehicles, explicitly permitted by police and security forces, will “be allowed to move during curfew timings.”
“The vehicle or person shall have to submit his or its identity (CNIC/ Vehicle documents) and on seeing security forces vehicle will stop his vehicle 50 meters away,” the notification read.
Earlier this month, two policemen were killed and two others sustained injuries in the wake of a roadside blast, which police said targeted an armored personnel carrier in Tank.
Pakistan blames the surge in militancy in its western regions on militants operating out of Afghanistan, an allegation denied by Kabul. The attacks have soured relations between Islamabad and Kabul, leading to fierce clashes between both sides since February this year.
