Pakistan’s security apparatus absorbed another brutal hit as militants overran a police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district, killing Additional SHO Gul Mahmood in War Mamund tehsil. The late-night Saturday raid, detailed by officials via Dawn, involved a barrage from assorted weaponry.
Police statements paint a scene of intense combat: officers repelled the invaders through the night, but the Additional SHO paid the ultimate price for his courage. A senior official’s Sunday visit affirmed the rest of the team safe, a small mercy in the mayhem.
Context reveals a broader offensive. Early this week, Dera Ismail Khan saw tragedy when forest-lurking terrorists ambushed police heading back from Paniala Wanda Budh searches, felling four including an SHO.
The PIPS 2025 report lays bare the crisis: a 34% jump to 699 attacks, 1,034 dead, 1,366 injured. Conflict events hit 1,124—a 43% escalation—with deaths up 21% as militancy, ops, clashes, and abductions intensify.
KP and Balochistan bear the brunt, with police increasingly in the crosshairs. This string of hits demands a reckoning: enhanced fortifications, better intel-sharing, and perhaps a strategic overhaul to stem the tide. Until then, heroes like Gul Mahmood stand as stark reminders of the human cost of Pakistan’s unending war on terror.