The daredevil suicide attack using an explosives-laden vehicle, followed by armed militants storming the police lines and the adjacent Special Branch building, demonstrates the intensity of the terrorist threat confronting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Thirty-one people, including 17 police personnel, were martyred and around 100 were injured. The police and army personnel put up a brave fight, ultimately killing the attackers. The incident, however, brings to the fore a larger question: why do militant organisations continue to retain the capacity to plan, recruit, equip and execute complex attacks?
This cannot be treated as an isolated incident. On July 15, militants attempted to storm the Miryan Police Station in Bannu with an explosives-laden vehicle, followed by an armed assault that resulted in the martyrdom of a police official and injuries to several security personnel and civilians. On July 24, a joint security checkpost came under attack in Tank, where militants rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into its perimeter, martyring 15 people – including 12 soldiers, two policemen and a former Forest Department official.
On July 29, a group of militants carried out an attack against the Khazina Banda police checkpost in Hangu, resulting in the martyrdom of nine policemen, including a deputy superintendent of police, and injuries to 28 others. On August 2, a suicide bomber detonated near the Kabal Police Station in Swat while a public protest against lawlessness was under way, claiming the lives of 17 people, including seven policemen.
