PESHAWAR: The killing of at least 10 police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), in a militant ambush in Kohat on Wednesday has exposed the worsening security crisis in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where attacks against law enforcement agencies have continued to rise despite repeated counterterrorism operations.
The attack took place in the Gambat area of Kohat when a police team travelling to conduct an operation against illegal gold mining came under heavy fire in Darbokach Jalandhar Banda, between Kohat and Karak. According to Kohat police spokesperson Muhammad Nauman Zeb, the attackers opened fire from surrounding hilltops, trapping the police party in an ambush.
Those killed included DSP Gambat Haider Zaman and Sub-Inspector Mukhtiar. Five police vehicles were also set on fire during the assault. Reinforcements were dispatched, and a heavy exchange of fire followed. An emergency was declared at the District Headquarters Teaching Hospital.
The circumstances of the attack are particularly alarming because the police team was not conducting a conventional counterterrorism operation against an identified militant hideout. It was heading to take action against illegal mining, yet its movement and vulnerability appear to have been exploited by heavily armed attackers.
The incident raises serious questions about intelligence gathering, operational security and the ability of provincial authorities to protect police personnel even during routine law enforcement assignments.
The Kohat ambush is part of a much wider pattern. Police stations, checkpoints, patrol vehicles and counterterrorism personnel have increasingly come under attack across the province, particularly in its southern districts and the former tribal areas.
Official figures underline the scale of the deterioration. According to the Associated Press of Pakistan, citing police data, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded 680 attacks from January to September 2026, compared with 508 during the corresponding period in 2025. The number of police personnel killed also increased sharply: 122 were martyred during the first six months of 2026, compared with 63 in the same period a year earlier. Another 175 police personnel were injured during the first half of this year.
The situation had already become alarming in 2024 and 2025. A Counter-Terrorism Department report recorded 670 terrorist incidents in 2024, in which 204 police personnel were killed and 383 injured. In 2025, police figures showed that 536 terrorist attacks targeted police personnel, leaving 159 officers dead. The attacks represented a substantial increase from the 327 recorded in 2024, according to a separate CTD compilation.
The wider security picture is equally disturbing. The South Asia Terrorism Portal recorded 702 terrorism-related incidents in 2024, 766 in 2025 and 995 during 2026 up to November 9. Its provisional figures put total terrorism-related fatalities in the province at 2,359 in 2025, compared with 1,363 in 2024. These figures include civilians, security personnel and militants.
The figures demonstrate that the problem is no longer confined to isolated attacks in remote border districts. Militants have increasingly demonstrated their ability to strike police formations and security installations across the province, placing enormous pressure on an already overstretched police force.
A provincial government under scrutiny
The political responsibility for this deteriorating security environment cannot be separated from the performance of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led provincial administration, which governed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa throughout the period preceding the October emergency.
Despite years in power, the provincial government failed to establish an effective and sustained strategy capable of reversing the militant resurgence. Counterterrorism operations continued, and police personnel made enormous sacrifices, but the growing frequency of attacks exposed serious shortcomings in preventive intelligence, policing capacity, coordination and political ownership of the security challenge.
The criticism is not that the provincial police failed to fight terrorism. Rather, it is that the political leadership did not provide the consistent direction, institutional support and comprehensive policy required to prevent the crisis from deepening.
The provincial administration also faced criticism from federal authorities over its approach towards negotiations with militant groups and its willingness to cooperate with Islamabad’s counterterrorism strategy. The PTI leadership, however, opposed the federal intervention, arguing that security operations should not undermine provincial autonomy.
The breakdown in relations between Islamabad and the provincial leadership eventually led to an extraordinary constitutional intervention.
On October 11, President Asif Ali Zardari approved the imposition of emergency and Governor’s Rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution. The provincial government’s executive powers were transferred to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, while an 11-member advisory council was established to oversee provincial administration. Parliament subsequently endorsed the measures. The federal government also authorised the deployment of the Pakistan Army to assist civilian authorities under Article 245.
Following the intervention, authorities moved to intensify counterterrorism efforts. Police and the Counter-Terrorism Department conducted operations in Swat, Lakki Marwat and other districts, reporting militant fatalities. The governor also convened security meetings to improve coordination between provincial institutions, federal authorities and security agencies.
However, the Kohat attack demonstrates that administrative intervention alone cannot eliminate militancy.
The challenge facing Pakistan is considerably larger than deploying additional troops or conducting occasional operations. It requires dismantling militant networks, disrupting their financing, improving intelligence penetration, strengthening police stations and ensuring that local communities are protected from intimidation.
For the new administration, the immediate test will be whether it can prevent further attacks on police personnel and restore public confidence in areas where militants have regained operational space.
The deaths of 10 police personnel in Kohat should therefore serve as a warning that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s security crisis has reached a point where political disagreements can no longer take precedence over public safety. Without a coordinated, sustained and intelligence-driven campaign, the province risks remaining trapped in a cycle of militant attacks, police casualties and reactive military operations.