PESHAWAR/BANNU: A policeman was martyred and his body recovered on Monday, a day after his kidnapping by unidentified people from Hassankhel area, which is around 40 kilometres south of the provincial capital.

It was the second such case reported in the area in the last 72 hours.

Police officials said that Munsif Azam, who was posted to the Elite Unit in Hassankhel subdivision, was abducted and martyred on Sunday, while his body was recovered the same day.

The funeral of the martyred policeman was held at Peshawar’s police headquarters and attended by Peshawar Capital City Police Officer Dr Mian Saeed Ahmad, SSP (Operations) Farhan Khan, senior military and civil officials, and the deceased’s relatives.

It is the second such incident in last 72 hours

On Friday night, policeman Muqaddar Khan was kidnapped by unidentified men from the Hassankhel area before being martyred. His body was found in the same area.

Hassankhel, which sitson the border between Peshawar and Kohat districts, has witnessed several intelligence-based operations in the recent past, aimed at dismantling militant groups. Several personnel of law-enforcement agencies lost lives in militant attacks in the area.

On February 8, the police repulsed a militant attack at police checkpoints in the Passani village, which borders the Hassankhel subdivision.

Peshawar CCPO Dr Mian Saeed Ahmed told Dawn that the militants attacked a police post but policemen retaliated, forcing them to escape.

“The situation is under control,” he said.

No casualties or injuries were reported in the attack. However, the nature of the attack and other losses have yet to be ascertained.

On Nov 26, 2025, militants blew up a gas pipeline in the Hameed Khan Machine area, some five miles south of the police post in Passani.

Residents said that the pipeline caught fire after the explosion.

A police official said that the pipeline was blown up by militants two years ago, too.

Terror plot foiled: The police foiled a sabotage attempt by defusing around 15kg explosive material planted by militants in a plastic drum on the roadside in Kakki tehsil of Bannu district on Monday.

Officials said had the explosive material exploded, it would have caused widespread destruction.

They, however, said the bomb disposal unit (BDU)successfully defused the explosive device.

In another incident, members of a local committee in Merka Bera mountainous area of Wazir subdivision in Bannu district exchanged fire with militants, forcing them to retreat.

Meanwhile, strict security measures have been taken across the district in light of the ongoing anti-polio campaign.

Deputy commissioner Mohammad Faheem imposed Section 144 from April 12 to 20 to ensure maintenance of law and order.

According to an official notification, the display of weapons, pillion riding and the use of tinted vehicle windows have been banned.

Authorities warned that any violation of the restrictions would result in strict legal action under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Meanwhile, local elders have voiced concerns over the delicate law and order situation in the region and threatened street protests.

During a jirga, former Senator Haji Baz Mohammad Khan announced that he had presented16 points for peace in the area that were approved by the Apex Committee, but they had yet to be implemented.

He warned that if certain key roads in Bannu were not reopened by April 20, residents would take matters into their own hands and reopen them by force.

“If our demands continue to be ignored, we will launch a strong protest movement,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2026