Islamabad, March 4 (NationPress) An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), Daulat Khan, tragically lost his life in a sniper attack carried out by unidentified assailants at the Badan police post located in Wara Mamond tehsil of Bajaur district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as reported by local media citing police sources.

In response to the attack, law enforcement swiftly established a security perimeter around the area and initiated a search operation to apprehend the suspects, according to The Express Tribune. The region has seen an alarming rise in assaults on security forces over the past month.

Just days prior, on February 26, a violent encounter resulted in the deaths of four police officers and injuries to two others when unidentified attackers targeted an Ababeel police patrol in the Nawa Kalay region of Khar Tehsil in Bajaur. Additionally, on February 14, the Additional Station House Officer (SHO) Gul Mano Din was fatally shot when armed men opened fire at the Wara Mamond Police Station.

Meanwhile, a report from an Islamabad-based think tank highlighted a startling 30 percent increase in combat-related fatalities in Pakistan during February, largely attributed to a surge in suicide attacks throughout the nation, as noted by local media.

The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) documented 470 fatalities and 333 injuries in February, comprising 96 civilians, 80 security personnel, and 294 militants. The injured included 259 civilians, 50 security forces, and 24 militants, as reported by another prominent daily, Dawn.

This data reveals a staggering 74 percent rise in the deaths of security personnel, a 32 percent increase in civilian casualties, and a 21 percent rise in militant fatalities compared to January.

During February alone, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa witnessed the deaths of 53 security forces personnel and six civilians, alongside injuries to 35 security personnel and 48 civilians. Notably, three suicide bombing incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa claimed 17 lives, including 14 security personnel, and injured 20 others.

A separate suicide bombing in Islamabad led to the deaths of 34 individuals and injuries to 165 others. Furthermore, in a suicide attack in the Bhakkar district of Punjab, two police officers were killed, and four others sustained injuries, as reported by Dawn. The eight suicide attacks recorded in January and February of this year are nearly half the total for all of 2025, which saw 17 such incidents.

According to the data released by PICSS, the first two months of 2026 recorded 831 combat-related deaths, comprising 536 militants, 169 civilians, and 126 security personnel.