LAKKI MARWAT: An old and abandoned building of a telephone exchange was blown up with explosives in Takhtikhel area of Lakki Marwat district on Friday, the police said.

An official said that the incident occurred within the limits of Shaheed Asmatullah Khan Khattak police station of Serai Naurang town.

He said that an improvised explosive device planted along the building of the exchange went off with a bang, destroying the structure.

The official said that the explosion was heard in the entire rural locality.

“After the blast, a police contingent rushed to the site and launched a search for the perpetrators in the area,” he added.

Separately, terrorists kidnapped a police official from Havaid Adda area of Bannu district on Friday.

An official identified the kidnapped policeman as Shafiullah and said he was posted to the police’s Special Branch. He said that the kidnappers shifted him to an undisclosed location.

The official said that the police had launched an operation in the surrounding areas to track down the kidnappers and ensure safe recovery of the abducted constable.

Meanwhile, the Bannu police claimed to have recovered a brother of a martyred policeman safely from his captors on Friday.

A police official said constable Noor Zaman had been kidnapped by terrorists in Mirali town of North Waziristan district three days ago when he was coming to Bannu from Hangu to attend last rites of his brother, constable Javed Khan.

He said that constable Javed had lost his life in a gun attack by terrorists near Dosarak area in Kakki town.

The kidnappers had shifted Zaman to an unknown location,” he maintained.

Elders of Kakki town and relatives of the policeman thanked the regional police chief for taking practical steps for the safe recovery of constable Zaman.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2025