One factory worker injured in shootout as police pursue attackers amid rising militant violence
DERA ISMAIL KHAN:
Armed individuals on Tuesday carried out a looting and kidnapping operation near the Kachhi Canal bridge in the Paharpur area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district, triggering an exchange of fire with police, officials said.
District Police Officer (DPO) Sajjad Ahmed Sahibzada said the assailants abducted a person and fled the scene after the shootout. During the exchange of fire, an employee of a private cement factory, identified as Amjad, was injured, he added.
The DPO said it could not be stated with certainty whether the abducted person was a contractor of the cement factory. He said police were actively pursuing the armed kidnappers and would bring those involved to justice.
Read: DI Khan records 111 terror attacks in five years, 71 police officers martyred
Dera Ismail Khan has remained a major hotspot of militant violence for nearly four decades. Over the past five years, 71 police officers have been killed and 100 injured in 111 terrorist attacks in the district, according to official data.
Figures compiled by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) show that between 2020 and 2025, attacks continued to take a heavy toll on security forces in the strategically located city, which sits at the junction of Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Across Pakistan, overall violence surged by more than 25% during the period, with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa the worst-hit province. The province accounted for nearly 68% (2,165) of the country’s total violence-related fatalities and more than 62% (732) of all violent incidents.
Read More: Three police officers martyred in IED blast in DI Khan
The district has also witnessed deadly attacks in recent months. Last month, three police officers were martyred when an improvised explosive device targeted a police vehicle within the limits of Paniyala police station. Police identified the slain officers as ASI Gul Alam, Constable Rafiq and driver Sakhi Jan, while another constable, Azad Shah, survived the blast.
Earlier, in November 2025, two police personnel were martyred and four others injured when an IED struck an armoured personnel carrier near Takwara village in the Hathala area, about 35 kilometres from Dera Ismail Khan. Those killed were identified as Constable Saifur Rehman and driver Ramzan, while Mehmood Alam, Asif Rehman, Kifayat and Frontier Corps Havaldar Shahid were injured.
