Pakistan: Police officer attacked in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa May 28

Event

On Monday, May 28, a police officer was killed by two armed individuals on a motorcycle near the Sate Life building on the Circular Road in Dera Ismail Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province). The two assailants remain at large. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Context

Security personnel are often targeted by terrorist groups. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Al-Qai'da, Islamic State (IS) affiliates, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Afghan Taliban, and other Islamist militant groups continue to pose a threat throughout the country despite continued army offensives to push them from their northwestern strongholds near the Afghan border. Pakistan has suffered a number of deadly attacks in recent months, notably in Lahore, Quetta, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Advice

Individuals present in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province are advised to remain vigilant at all times and report any suspicious objects or behavior to the relevant authorities.

Due to a high threat from terrorism, as well as kidnapping and sectarian violence throughout Pakistan, some Western governments advise their citizens against nonessential travel to the country as foreign nationals, and in particular Westerners, may be directly targeted.