KOHAT, Dec 31: Police have claimed that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud has raised a force of volunteers for carrying out terrorist attacks in the region during Muharram.

Speaking at a joint meeting of leaders of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and the Shia community at the Kohat Police Club on Wednesday, the deputy inspector general of police, Kohat division, Qudratullah Marwat, said senior officials had received intelligence reports that Baitullah Mehsud had sent a batch of 500 terrorists for disturbing peace in the region by targeting sensitive places and Muharram processions.

He requested the leaders to work for peace and harmony in the region. He said Islam taught the lesson of brotherhood and tolerance, which should be reflected during religious occasions.

The meeting was attended by the chairman of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, former PML-N MNA Javed Ibraheem Paracha, Manzoor Ahmed Paracha, Abid Paracha, Maulana Rehman Din and representatives of the Imamia Council, Syed Mehtabul Hassan, Sher Mohammad Tori, Amjid Karbalai, Syed Mazhar Ali Shah and circle police officers.

ROCKET ATTACK: Three women and a boy of a family were killed and six others, including four women, injured when a rocket hit a house in Darra Adamkhel on Wednesday.

Officials said the rocket fired from some location in the hills near the town blew up the house, killing the three women and the boy on the spot. Six other members of the family were injured. They were taken to the Kohat Divisional Headquarters Hospital.

Sources said this was the first rocket attack in Darra Adamkhel after a lull of one month. They said militants had escaped from the area to the Orakzai Agency after a military operation was launched in the area.

The army had launched an operation in Darra Adamkhel in August following a suicide attack on a military camp near the Kohat Tunnel.

Kohat District Coordination Officer Siraj Ahmed told Dawn that militants could target the tunnel, but keeping in view problems of people its opening would be considered by security forces after Muharram.

Opinion

Editorial

Centre vs provinces
Updated 10 Jun, 2026

Centre vs provinces

The reason the centre finds itself in this position is rooted in its failure to expand the tax net and boost revenues.
Party in crisis
10 Jun, 2026

Party in crisis

THE young KP chief minister must be starting to realise just how thorny a seat he occupies. There has been a flurry...
Varsity woes
10 Jun, 2026

Varsity woes

FINANCIAL crises affecting public sector universities across Pakistan are now having an impact on academic...
Doctor attacked
09 Jun, 2026

Doctor attacked

AN act of reprehensible violence has shaken the medical community. On Saturday, an employee of the Provincial Civil...
AJK flare-up
Updated 09 Jun, 2026

AJK flare-up

The situation started deteriorating after a trader affiliated with the JAAC was reportedly shot in an altercation with law-enforcers.
Fault lines
09 Jun, 2026

Fault lines

THE April 8 ceasefire that halted hostilities between Israel and Iran has encountered its most serious test yet....