A suicide attacker drove an explosives-packed car into a police facility in Kohat, northwest Pakistan, on Friday, killing at least 16 people and wounding 57, many of them officers and their families gathered for Friday prayers at a mosque inside the compound. Provincial police chief Zulfikar Hameed said five police officers were among the dead after the vehicle smashed through the outer wall and gunmen travelling with it opened fire.
Police said all seven attackers died in the blast and the gunfight that followed. No group claimed responsibility, and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan — the umbrella body of Sunni militant groups active in the border region — issued a statement denying any involvement. Rescuers described chaotic scenes, with footage showing the boundary wall blown apart and bystanders pulling the wounded from the debris as ambulances arrived.
The attack took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the province along the Afghan border where Islamist militants have escalated their campaign against Pakistan's security forces in recent months. Militants seeking to overthrow the federal government have increasingly targeted the military and police. Islamabad maintains that fighters use safe havens across the border in Afghanistan to train and plan attacks — a claim the Taliban government in Kabul rejects, calling militancy a domestic Pakistani problem. Pakistan's interior ministry responded to the bombing by saying the attack would not weaken what it called the nation's resolve.
For travellers, the practical takeaway is clear: northwest Pakistan — including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and areas near the Afghan border — remains an active risk zone, and most foreign governments advise against all but essential travel there. Pakistan has drawn growing interest from adventurous visitors drawn to the Karakoram highways, Hunza Valley and the north's mountain trekking, but this attack is a reminder that security conditions vary dramatically by region. Anyone considering the country should check their foreign office's latest advice, avoid police and military facilities (which are the militants' primary targets), monitor local news, and consider travelling with reputable local operators in the safer northern areas.