A group of militiamen on Sunday seized control of a police station of the Anti-Terrorism Department of the Pakistani security forces in Bannu where they were being held, took hostages and offered to negotiate with the authorities.
A spokesman for the authorities of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mohammad Ali Saif, explained that it was the militiamen themselves who were being held in the police center for terrorist offenses who managed to get hold of weapons, reports the Pakistani newspaper ‘Dawn’.
«The situation is completely under control. Security forces have cordoned off the area,» Saif said, pointing to an ongoing operation to regain control of the police station.
A police official said on condition of anonymity that some 25 members of a terrorist organization were being held at the police station when they seized the weapons of seven officers who are now being held hostage.
«Three wounded policemen have been evacuated and transferred to a hospital,» said the source, who pointed out that the rest of the officers are still being held hostage.
An opposition deputy of the provincial Assembly, Harun Bilur, has warned that the whole region is «on fire». «Police and civilians are like ducks hatching. It is very sad that those who have been ruling for nine years here cannot open their mouths. They can’t even condemn, so they will never be able to control what they want to impose on us,» he said, referring to the PTI government.
A few hours earlier, militiamen attacked a police station in Burgi and killed four policemen. Some 60 officers were on duty at the time, according to a police spokesman, Shahid Hamid, who said the clashes lasted 45 minutes. The attackers then fled. The authorities suspect Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani Taliban.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
