In Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, two policemen who were with census teams when they were attacked and killed.
In one of the attacks, a group of people attacked a police car with nine men inside on Monday.
“Ten to twelve attackers were hiding in a waterway and started shooting at our phone from there. Khan Nawab, a police officer, was killed when the police tried to fight back.
Two police officers were seriously injured and taken to Peshawar for treatment.
The Pakistani military’s media wing said security forces pursued the attackers and killed a “terrorist commander” named “Abdul Rasheed alias Rasheedi” on Monday evening. It said authorities wanted him for “many terrorist activities” against security officers and civilians.
The second incident occurred Monday afternoon in the Lakki Marwat district, some 86 kilometres (52 miles) north of Tank.
It was perpetrated by “two hooded males on bicycles who opened fire on the census team, resulting in the killing of policeman Dil Jan,” according to Lakki Marwat police spokesperson Shahid Hameed.
The assailants managed to flee after killing the officer, according to Hameed.
No claim of responsibility was made for either incident.
The seventh census of Pakistan, which is slated to last through April 1, commenced on March 1.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban, has increased its attacks against the country’s security services after it unilaterally terminated a ceasefire agreement with the government in November of last year.
Among its other demands, the TTP seeks a harsher application of Islamic law, the release of its members from government custody, and a reduction in Pakistani military involvement in portions of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan.
It also attempts to undo the 2018 consolidation of Pakistan’s tribal districts with neighbouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.