Two officials of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) were martyred at Tanda Dam in Kohat district in a gun attack carried out by unidentified assailants, officials said on Monday.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terrorist activities over the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.

Kohat District Police Officer (DPO) Zahid Khan told Dawn.com, “Two CTD personnel, named Zahid and Mustafa, were martyred in a gun attack at Kohat’s Tanda Dam.”

He said that the suspects fled from the scene, adding that a heavy police contingent was dispatched to the area.

The motive behind the incident was unknown and an investigation was underway, he added.

According to KP Inspector General of Police (IGP) Zulfiqar Hameed, authorities have taken notice of the “target killing” of the police officers.

“The CTD additional IGP has been directed to form special investigation teams … to immediately arrest the miscreants involved in the attack and bring them to justice,” he said.

“The CTD additional IGP will supervise the investigation teams,” he added.

“[These] cowardly acts of miscreants cannot demoralise the police force. The blood of police personnel will not be allowed to go in vain,” the provincial police chief continued.

February saw a marginal increase in terrorist attacks but a sharp surge in civilian casualties, according to a report published by the Islamabad-based think tank, Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).

According to PICSS, the country witnessed 79 terrorist attacks last month, resulting in the deaths of 55 civilians and 47 security personnel, while 45 civilians and 81 security personnel were injured.

Security forces, meanwhile, intensified counter-terrorism operations, eliminating 156 terrorists, injuring 20, and arresting 66, it said.

Naqvi condemns attack

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack on police personnel, according to a statement by the interior ministry.

“Interior Minister Naqvi condemns the incident of firing on police personnel near Tanda Dam area of Kohat”, the statement said.

The interior minister, “pays tribute to the two police personnel who were martyred in the firing and salutes the sacrifice of martyred police personnel Ghulam Mustafa and Zahid-ur-Rehman”, it added.

The minister expressed his sympathies and condolences to the families of the martyred. “The great sacrifices of the brave sons of KP police will always be remembered,” he concluded.