LAKKI MARWAT: Two terrorists were arrested in an intelligence-based operation in Lakki Marwat late Thursday night.

District police officer Mohammad Jawad Ishaq told Dawn the police had intensified actions against terrorists on directives of Bannu Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan to eliminate the menace and maintain peace in the region.

He said a party of Shahbazkhel police station backed by Elite Force commandos and armoured personnel carriers reached the rural area on information about the presence of terrorists there.

“The cops raided a suspected hideout and arrested two terrorists, identified as Bilal, a resident of Nawerkhel, and Asif Nawaz of Kattakhel,” he said, adding the arrested men were wanted by law enforcement agencies in various terrorism-related cases. They were shifted to the police station.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed praised Lakki Marwat police for a successful operation against terrorists, saying that police were determined to eliminate terrorism and continue the struggle until peace was established in the entire region.

Meanwhile, the police on Friday claimed to have solved a blind murder case of an army soldier by arresting two suspects during a raid in Karak district.

A police official said that soldier Tahir Irfan left home on a motorcycle in the afternoon of June 21, but he did not return.

He said that the family tried to contact him on his mobile phone but both his SIM cards were switched off.

“Next day, while the family members were searching for him, they found his body dumped in the mountain,” the official said.

He said Karak district police officer Shahbaz Elahi took notice of the murder and constituted a special team headed by DSP Saadat Ali to trace the killers.

“The police experts launched an investigation into murder and found a clue about the suspects with the help of advanced technology and human intelligence,” he claimed, adding that the cops arrested two suspects, identified as Nadim and Samiullah, during a raid and seized a pistol used in the crime and a motorcycle of deceased soldier from them.

Separately, unknown terrorists blew up an abandoned police post in the Kharoba area of Lakki Marwat late Thursday night.

Police said that an explosive device planted along the building of the police post went off with a bang, badly damaging the structure.

They said that the post had been abandoned by the police as it had been declared unfit for use several years ago.

The blast was heard in the vicinity, however, no casualties were reported.

A large police contingent reached the place and launched a search for the saboteurs in the area.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2025