Terrorist killed as police repel attack on Taunsa check-post

TAUNSA: Police repelled a terrorist attack on a police checkpoint, killing one suspected militant in Jhangi town of Taunsa, an area adjacent to the border between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

District Police Officer (DPO) of Dera Ghazi Khan Syed Ali Kazmi said that terrorists launched rockets at the Jhangi police check-post on Sunday night. The police took thermal cameras' help to respond to the attack.

Police reported that one terrorist was killed in the effective retaliation, while the others managed to escape. No police official was injured in the attack.

This is the eighth terrorist attack in the border areas of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this month.

Prior to this incident, Punjab Police conducted a major operation against criminals in the Katcha area of Rahim Yar Khan, killing two dangerous dacoits — Shah Mir alias Meera Kosh and Hakim Kosh. These robbers were the prime suspects in the killing of 12 police officials in Kacha Machka in 2024.

Last year, on August 22, dacoits attacked police in Machka, martyring 12 police personnel. The fateful incident had taken place when two police vans were coming back after performing duty when dacoits launched an attack through rocket launchers at their convoy.

A notable increase in violence has been witnessed in the country lately ranking it as the second-most terrorism-affected country in 2024, as per a Global Terrorism Index 2025 report.

Pakistan — placed at the second spot from its previously fourth position — witnessed an alarming 45% increase in terrorism-related deaths with the total rising from 748 in 2023 to 1,081 in 2024 — one of the steepest surges globally.