BANNU: Two personnel of the Federal Consta­bulary (FC) were martyred in a firing incident carried out by militants in Kuram Garhi on Sunday, in the jurisdiction of the Cantt police station.

According to police, the slain officials were shopping at a local market when the attackers, who arrived on a bike, targeted them and managed to flee the scene.

FC sources said the deceased were identified as Havaldar Rokhniyaz and sepoy Rehmanullah. Both were posted in the FC Daryoba MI platoon.

Soon after the incident, the security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to trace the attackers. Additional police personnel were also deployed for the task. Security officials stated all available resources were being utilised to apprehend the suspects at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the Sham­uzai police post in the remit of the Township police station was dest­royed by the militants on Saturday night after they rigged it with explosives. Sources said the intense explosion destroyed the building, which had been lying vacant since 2022.

After the blast, the pol­ice and other law enforcement agencies reached the scene, cordoned off the area, and began collecting evidence to hunt the suspects. Police confirmed that no casualties occu­rred in the incident. Sep­arately, a ‘Qau­mi Jirga’ announced a shutter-down and wheel-jam str­ike on April 20.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2026

BANNU: Three polio workers abducted by militants on Wednesday have been safely recovered through coordinated efforts by the police and local jirga elders, police said.

Under the leadership of the Bannu district police officer (DPO), the police initiated immediate action following the incident. A comprehensive strategy was adopted by taking local jirga elders into confidence. Due to the successful mediation by the jirga and the professional competence of the police, the abducted workers were safely recovered.

Bannu DPO Yasir Afridi, while confirming the development, told Dawn that “with a lot of efforts, they have been recovered”.

The three polio workers were abducted by unidentified militants in the Jhandu Khel area on Wednesday during the ongoing anti-polio campaign, sparking serious concern in the area.

Earlier this week, a police constable was martyred and four others were injured in an attack on a law enforcement party en route to provide security for polio teams in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu district.

The incident took place on the first day of a nationwide vaccination campaign taking place from April 13 to 19. It was this year’s first attack on law enforcement personnel deployed for polio teams’ security.

Polio vaccinators, who go door-to-door to inoculate children, are frequently targeted by militants, esp­e­cially in KP and Balochistan.

In February, a police of­­fi­cer was martyred when armed terrorists opened fire on a polio vaccination team in Balochistan’s Chaman district.

According to officials, the number of violent incidents against polio teams had decreased last year due to foolproof security measures, with four policemen and one civilian killed, and three police officials injured. They also said 17 health workers were kidnapped during vaccination campaigns.