**Powerful Roadside Bomb Kills Police Officers in Pakistan’s Former Taliban Stronghold**
*PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP)* — A powerful roadside bomb struck a police vehicle on Friday in the city of Hangu, located in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border. The attack killed the city police chief and two junior officers, officials confirmed.
The bombing occurred as the officers were en route to a police station that had been attacked less than an hour earlier, said local police chief Adam Khan. No further details were provided.
**Blame on Pakistani Taliban**
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attacks and attributed them to the Pakistani Taliban. This group is separate but closely allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban, which regained power in Kabul in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces.
Pakistan accuses Kabul of allowing Pakistani Taliban militants based in Afghanistan to carry out cross-border attacks. Kabul, however, denies these allegations, stating it does not permit its territory to be used against other countries.
**Security Forces Strike Back**
Also on Friday, Pakistani security forces raided a militant hideout in the northwestern Tank district, killing eight Pakistani Taliban militants, the military announced in a statement.
**Peace Talks Amid Escalating Violence**
The recent violence comes a day before Pakistan and Afghanistan are scheduled to hold a second round of peace talks in Istanbul. This meeting follows an initial session in Doha, Qatar, on October 19 and aims to build on a temporary ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey after deadly border clashes left dozens dead on both sides.
In Islamabad, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi stated on Friday that the talks in Doha focused on halting cross-border violence immediately. The upcoming Istanbul talks will work towards establishing “a concrete and verifiable monitoring mechanism.”
“We are not asking for the moon, we are just asking to end cross-border terrorism,” Andrabi told a news conference.
**Border Closures Impact Trade**
Since October 13, all border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been closed due to recent clashes. While this closure affects trade between the two countries, Andrabi stressed that safety is paramount.
“When armed attacks take place along these trading points, killing Pakistanis, then the lives of our people are more important than any commodity trade,” he said.
Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) border known as the Durand Line, which Afghanistan has never formally recognized.
**Abductions in Balochistan**
Elsewhere in Pakistan, insurgents kidnapped 13 construction workers in the Khuzdar district of southwestern Balochistan province, according to a local police official.
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*Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Abdul Sattar contributed to this story from Quetta, Pakistan.*
https://religionnews.com/2025/10/27/roadside-bombing-kills-3-police-officers-in-northwest-pakistan/
