At least six police personnel were killed and one injured in a blast near a police vehicle in the Bettani tribal area of Lakki Marwat district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local media reported.
According to a spokesperson of the local police, the explosion took place near a police mobile, resulting in the death of six police personnel and injuries to one policeman. The spokesperson further said that additional police personnel were deployed at the site of the incident to secure the area and assist in further response measures, Pakistan's leading media outlet Geo News reported.
The attack comes amid a rise in militant violence in Pakistan since the Taliban seized power in Kabul. Pakistan has witnessed an increase in cross-border terrorist activity, particularly in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which share a border with Afghanistan.
Pakistan launched Operation 'Ghazab lil-Haq' in response to the terror incidents and has claimed that at least 641 Afghan Taliban fighters have been killed in strikes conducted along the border and inside Afghanistan, Geo News reported. Prior to this operation, Pakistan carried out airstrikes in the Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost provinces of Afghanistan. The Taliban has accused Pakistan of carrying out deadly airstrikes in residential areas of Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, resulting in the death of several civilians.
Meanwhile, a report released by an Islamabad-based think tank revealed that combat-related deaths in Pakistan increased by 30 per cent in February, mainly due to a surge in suicide attacks across the country.
A report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) revealed that 470 deaths and 333 injuries were documented in February. The victims included 96 civilians, 80 security forces personnel and 294 militants, while the injured included 259 civilians, 50 security forces personnel and 24 militants, Dawn reported.
The figures show a 74 per cent rise in the deaths of security forces personnel, a 32 per cent increase in civilian deaths and a 21 per cent surge in militant deaths compared to January.
As many as 53 security forces personnel and six civilians were killed, while 35 security personnel and 48 civilians were injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in February. Three suicide bombing incidents took place in the province, claiming 17 lives, including 14 security forces personnel, and injuring 20 others.
In another incident highlighting the deteriorating security situation, a senior officer of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) was killed on March 8 after unidentified assailants opened fire at him in the Killi Ismail area of Pakistan's Quetta, local media reported.
Police said Inspector Metha Khan, who had recently joined the CTD, was shot by armed men when he was passing through the area. A senior police official said the officer died on the spot after armed men on motorcycles opened fire at him. The gunmen later escaped from the spot, following which law enforcement personnel cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to arrest the attackers.
Elsewhere, as many as 34 people were killed and 165 others injured in a suicide bombing in Islamabad. Furthermore, two police personnel were killed and four others injured in a suicide bombing in the Bhakkar district of Punjab province, Dawn reported. The eight suicide attacks reported in January and February this year are nearly half the total for all of 2025, when 17 such incidents were recorded.
According to data released by PICSS, the first two months of 2026 witnessed 831 combat-related deaths, including 536 militants, 169 civilians and 126 security forces personnel.
Meanwhile, tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have also escalated. Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the latest Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia and Paktika regions, which reportedly resulted in several civilian casualties.
Terming the strikes a clear and grave violation of the principles of neighbourliness, human values and international laws, Karzai urged the Pakistani government to abandon enmity, exercise foresight and adopt a civilised approach towards Afghanistan.
"Former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai strongly condemns the Pakistani strikes on the country's capital and the provinces of Kandahar, Paktia and Paktika, which have resulted in the martyrdom of a number of our compatriots, including women and children, and considers them a clear and grave violation of the principles of neighbourliness, human values and international laws," Karzai posted on X.
His statement came after Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan carried out fresh military strikes across multiple Afghan provinces, including Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia and Paktika, resulting in civilian casualties.
The attacks have heightened tensions along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, with the Taliban condemning the strikes as violations of Afghan sovereignty.
"Continuing the pattern of previous aggressions and crimes, the Pakistani military regime has once again bombed Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia, Paktika and some other areas. In some places it targeted civilians' homes, leading to the deaths of women and children, while in other places it targeted empty deserts and uninhabited areas," Mujahid posted on X.
He further accused Pakistani military aircraft of setting ablaze the fuel storage of Kam Air, a private airline company, near Kandahar International Airport.
"This company supplies fuel to civilian airlines and United Nations aircraft. This comes at a time when they had previously also burnt fuel depots belonging to private traders named Haji Khan Zada," Mujahid said.
The current round of hostilities began when Taliban-led Afghan forces launched retaliatory operations against Pakistani military installations on February 27, following Pakistan's actions targeting militants inside Afghan territory on February 21. Pakistan later launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq (Righteous Fury) in response to what it described as "unprovoked firing" by Afghan forces across multiple border sectors.
(With inputs from IANS)
