KOHAT: Three policemen were martyred while a citizen was killed in a late-night attack on Wednesday on a police checkpost near Lachi Toll Plaza on the Indus Highway in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohat district, officials said.

According to a statement released by Lachi Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Fazl Naeem, the martyred cops included Lance Naik Constable Amjad, Lance Naik Constable Junaid and Constable Waqar.

PRO Naeem said that a heavy contingent of police reached the site of the incident upon receiving an alert. The area has been cordoned off and a search operation was under way to locate the miscreants, he said.

The incident comes just two days after a vehicle carrying police personnel on polio duty came under attack in KP’s Mamond tehsil. Seven policemen were martyred in the incident.

The same day, a soldier lost his life while an injured militant was arrested following an exchange of fire between security forces and militants in North Waziristan.

Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari condemned the attack. In a statement, he expressed grief over the lives lost in the incident and offered his condolences to the bereaved families.

“Terrorists are enemies of the country,” he added. Bilawal said that the sacrifices rendered by the army, security forces and the police would not be in vain.

Ex-president Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the attack and expressed grief over the deaths. He asserted that the National Action Plan be implemented to completely eradicate terrorism.

PPP’s Sherry Rehman said the perpetrators involved in the attack “must be arrested as soon as possible and given exemplary punishment”.

“Thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families,” she said.

National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf expressed remorse over the loss of lives and offered his condolences to the grieving families.

He added that the entire nation stood with the country’s security forces in the fight against terrorism.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan after the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan had ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.