Over the past five years, 71 police officers have been killed and 100 injured in 111 terrorist attacks in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, a district that has been a focal point of militant violence for nearly four decades.
These attacks, occurring between 2020 and 2025, have taken a mounting toll on security forces in this strategically located city at the junction of three provinces: Balochistan, Punjab, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
This year, Pakistan has witnessed more than a 25% surge in overall violence, recording at least 3,187 violence-linked fatalities and 1,981 injuries among civilians, security personnel, and criminals, according to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was the worst-hit region, accounting for nearly 68% (2,165) of the country’s total violence-linked fatalities and over 62% (732) of all incidents of violence.
In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, security forces dominate the operational landscape. Fatalities during security operations (1,370) exceeded those from terrorist attacks (795) by 72%, highlighting that large-scale counter-terrorism campaigns are the main driver of casualties in the province.
Read: Terror violence surges 25% in 11 months of 2025
Between 2020 and 2025, Dera Ismail Khan witnessed a fluctuating pattern of attacks. In 2020, six attacks killed four police officers and injured two. The following year, 13 attacks left three dead and four wounded.
Violence escalated in 2022, with 24 attacks killing 19 officers and injuring 27, and peaked in 2023 with 39 attacks claiming seven lives and wounding 27. Though attacks dropped to 17 in 2024, casualties remained high, and as of December 2025, 12 attacks have killed 15 officers and injured 16.
In the most recent incident, three police officers were killed in an attack on a mobile unit within the limits of Panyala police station.
The Saraiki-speaking district of five tehsils borders Dera Ghazi Khan, Balochistan’s Zhob district, and South Waziristan. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, when terrorism spread across Pakistan, Dera Ismail Khan was among the hardest-hit areas.
Sectarian violence began here in 1987 and continues today. Since 2007, terrorist incidents have claimed numerous lives, including senior police officers.
Read more: Three police officers martyred in IED blast in DI Khan
In a city that houses both the commissioner and the regional police officer, the police have become one of the most vulnerable targets of militant activity.
Given its strategic position, the Pakistan Army maintains a substantial presence, with multiple training centres in the district.
Situated along the Indus River, Dera Ismail Khan has seen significant population growth when residents displaced by military operations against militants in Waziristan settled here. The most recent census put the district’s population at 2.2 million, including 600,000 to 700,000 tribal people and a substantial Afghan population.
