Two unarmed civilians were shot dead in separate incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s southern districts of Lakki Marwat and Tank, areas that have repeatedly suffered similar attacks in recent years, including cases where young men were murdered after refusing sexual advances from militants.
In Lakki Marwat, a young man from the Fateh Khan Khel area was abducted and killed by terrorists who then dumped his body in the jurisdiction of Bannu’s Hawaid police station.
In Tank, another young resident identified as Baitullah was deliberately targeted and shot dead without reason.
These killings follow an explosion a day earlier in Jannat Shah area of Bajaur where two youths were martyred after an explosive device left behind by militants detonated.
Southern districts including Karak, Lakki Marwat, Tank, Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu remain persistently targeted, where both security forces and civilians face frequent attacks.
Additional Incidents That Show a Continuing Pattern
At the start of November, sources reported that terrorists of the banned Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan, also known as Fitna al Khawarij, shot and killed two unarmed civilians in Tank and Bannu.
In Tank’s Mullazai police area, militants of the Shaheen faction opened fire without provocation on a teenage boy in Lakki Michan Khel. The victim, Mohammad Waseem, was about 14 to 15 years old. The same group had earlier killed his father, Subedar retired Pasta Jan, two years ago, and his cousin Gul Zaman two months earlier.
In a separate incident the same day, in Bannu’s Kurr or Kreer area of Tehsil Safi, militants executed Nahid Shah son of Wasil. He had been kidnapped from his shop in Bannu about a month earlier and was killed late at night for reasons that remain unclear.
Late October, the Nasr Khel area of Lakki Marwat saw two brutal attacks carried out by terrorists belonging to Fitna al Khawarij.
Aftab Khan, an accountant with the Education Department, was shot dead while returning home in a rickshaw from Naurang Bazaar. A young boy with him was injured.
Shortly after, the group targeted the home of Rafiullah, a security personnel who was on leave preparing for his wedding, and martyred him on the spot.
These attacks highlight the continued hostility of Fitna al-Khawarij toward individuals linked to education, local administration and security, along with the persistent threat civilians face across Bannu, Tank, Lakki Marwat and other southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
On May 29, Khawarij gunmen targeted a peace committee comprising police personnel and local volunteers in the Alakhel Sardikhel area of Bannu district, resulting in the martyrdom of a young man and injuries to several others.
Local sources confirmed that the deceased was identified as Murtaza Khan. Those injured included schoolteacher Naqeeb Ahmad, Rahim and Mir Zaman.
This was the second such incident in recent days. Earlier, Khawarij had murdered a civilian for refusing to provide food.
In Lakki Marwat’s Pizo police limits, during the first week of July, the beheaded body of a civilian was recovered near Wanda Jogi. A handwritten note found at the scene carried threats attributed to militants linked with Fitna al-Khawarij.
A similarly brutal killing took place in Tank, where a young man named Iftiaz son of Ejaz Ahmed was abducted from Amakhel and later found executed.
Officials confirmed the victims had no link with state institutions.
This was consistent with earlier cases, including a clash between TTP and Lashkar e Islam fighters over the sexual exploitation of a minor boy, and an incident in Afghanistan where a teenager killed a Taliban commander after an attempted assault.
These cases, taken together, show a deeply disturbing pattern in which militants not only target civilians, police, teachers and local volunteers, but also kill young boys who refuse sexual exploitation, a reality that further exposes the brutality and moral corruption of Fitna al-Khawarij.
