A senior police official in Shangla, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, narrowly escaped a remote-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) attack on Saturday.
According to police sources, District Police Officer (DPO) Shah Hassan and his accompanying team remained unharmed during the explosion. However, a private vehicle belonging to an officer from the Special Branch sustained damage in the blast.
Following the incident, security forces swiftly cordoned off the area and initiated a search operation to locate those behind the attack.
This incident follows a pattern of rising militancy in the region. On March 26 last year, at least six people—including five Chinese nationals—were killed in a similar attack in Besham, Shangla.
According to a January 2025 report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), the country experienced a significant rise in militant activity, with a 42% increase in terror incidents compared to the previous month.
The report recorded 74 militant attacks nationwide in January, which led to 91 deaths, including 35 security personnel, 20 civilians, and 36 militants. Additionally, 117 people were injured, comprising 53 security personnel, 54 civilians, and 10 militants.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the most affected province, followed by Balochistan. In KP’s settled districts alone, militants carried out 27 attacks, claiming 19 lives—11 of them security officials, six civilians, and two militants.
Meanwhile, the tribal districts of KP (formerly FATA) recorded 19 attacks that resulted in 46 deaths, including 13 security personnel, eight civilians, and 25 militants.
