Militants kill five policemen in attack in northwest Pakistan

Militants killed five police officers in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, police said, as the South Asian nation grapples with a rising wave of Islamist violence. Police said they came under attack upon their return from an operation against militants on the outskirts of the city of Dera Ismail Khan. The militants, who were hiding in a forest, opened fire on the police patrols, a police statement said. It said the police killed four of the militants in a retaliatory attack. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.The attack occurred as a police unit was returning from a search operation launched after intelligence reports were received about the presence of militants in the area.
The city sits on the edge of lawless Waziristan district along the Afghan border, which has long been home to Islamist militants, mainly local Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Militant violence has been on the rise since the TTP revoked a ceasefire with Islamabad in late 2022. A suicide bombing killed over 30 people at a mosque in Islamabad on Friday.
Meanwhile, the homes of a number of Afghan refugees in the Akora Khattak camp and some other camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been demolished by Pakistani police. Alongside these demolitions, the forced deportation of Afghan refugees continues. Families who had lived for years beyond the border crossings are now compelled to leave homes they built with a lifetime of hard work.
The process of returning Afghan refugees from Pakistan has intensified since last year. Pakistani officials have repeatedly announced that individuals without legal documents must leave the country. According to international organizations, hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan in recent months, while many of them face serious challenges inside the country, including lack of shelter, unemployment, and limited access to basic services.