LAKKI MARWAT: A key terrorist commander was killed in an operation jointly conducted by the counter-terrorism department and security forces here on Friday.

A police official said that the slain terrorist, Zahid Gul, was the mastermind of the recent Kohat Police Lines bombing.

He said thatthe intelligence-based joint operation took place in the Walai Sagai area, bordering Bittani subdivision(formerly FR Lakki).

“During the operation, the high-profile terrorist commander, Zahid Gul, affiliated with the Gul Bahadur Group and served as the primary mastermind behind the suicide attack on the old Kohat Police Lines was eliminated,” he said.

The official said that the terrorist commander had guided the explosives-laden suicide vehicle during the assault on the old police lines in Kohat.

He said that Zahid Gul was also highly wanted by security forces in connection with several other serious acts of terrorism.

Regarding the slain terrorist’s involvement in subversive and anti-state activities, he said that the commander had been present at the scene of a bank robbery in the Bili Tang area of Kohat where Rs6 million was looted before being distributed to terrorist factions based in the Bakakhel and Janikhel areas of Bannu.

The official noted that the terrorist commander maintained close ties with the Gul Bahadur Group and was involved in facilitating the arrival of multiple suicide bombers in Kohat.

“Two months ago, Zahid Gul had brought a suicide bomber intended for an attack on the new Kohat Police Lines, a plot that was successfully thwarted,” he claimed.

The official said that the planned future targets of the terrorist commander included a Pakistan Air Force facility and the Police Training School in Kohat.

He added that other operatives belonging to the terrorist network were already in the custody of law-enforcement agencies.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2026