10 policemen killed, 6 injured in attack on police station in Pakistan

10 police officers were killed and 6 were injured in a terrorist attack on Chodwan Police Station in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan late on Monday night. News agency Reuters quoted Pakistani police officials as saying that at around 3 am the terrorists attacked the police station with snipers and then entered the building. After entering the building the terrorists used grenades, causing more casualties to the police.

It is also not clear who was behind the terrorist attack on the police station. This attack also took place three days before the national elections to be held in the country on February 8. In the last few days, incidents of terrorist attacks have increased in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region and Balochistan. National Assembly candidate Rehan Zeb Khan was shot dead along with four of his colleagues in a tribal district along the Afghan border on January 31. The candidate claimed to be a supporter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

On 30 January, a bomb blast in Balochistan killed at least 15 people, including 2 civilians and 4 law enforcement agents. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of several separatist groups operating in Balochistan. The fear of delay in elections had increased especially due to increase in terrorist attacks in West Pakistan. However, the Election Commission of Pakistan said it was ready to conduct the elections with the help of Pakistan’s military and security agencies.