August 03, 2024
Staff Report
LAHORE:
Two policemen were killed in an attack by unknown militants on a convoy of three judges travelling from districts Tank to Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“The militants ambushed the convoy in the Bhagwal area of Tank district, and the gunfire between security personnel and the attackers continued for at least 25 to 30 minutes,” Abdul Salam Khalid, District Police Officer (DPO) Tank, told Voicepk.
The killed policemen were identified as constables Abdullah and Abdus Samad.
Police said the three judges – including acting district and sessions judge of Tank Malik Hasnain, acting district and sessions judge of South Waziristan Malik Asghar, and senior civil judge of South Waziristan Tahira Zainab – were part of the convoy.
The three judges are close relatives of each other. Senior civil judge Tahira Zainab is the wife of judge Malik Asghar and the sister of judge Malik Hasnain.
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has lodged an FIR of the attack under anti-terrorism charges against the unidentified assailants, and investigations are underway to ascertain the militant group behind the attack.
“Since the militants ambushed the convoy from front and back, it is possible that they intended to eliminate the security personnel and take the judges hostage. However, the police fought bravely and resisted the attack tactfully, forcing the militants to flee,” DPO Abdul Salam Khalid said.
He added that one or two militants were also wounded in the retaliatory firing from the police.
In April 2024, Shakirullah Marwat, the district and sessions judge of South Waziristan, was kidnapped by unknown people near Hathala on Dera-Tank road. The judge was intercepted by around 10 to 15 armed motorcyclists while travelling towards Dera Ismail Khan. The gunmen set fire to the judge’s official vehicle before fleeing with Marwat.
The Peshawar High Court Bar Association has condemned the attack on the convoy of three judges, and urged the government to take measures for peace and order in the province. The lawyers’ body also demanded a judicial inquiry into the attack on the judges in Tank.