A subedar and a sergeant of the Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts were martyred in a terrorist attack on their checkpoint along the Karakoram Highway (KKH) in the Diamer district early Friday morning. Officials confirmed that the assailants, positioned on an elevated hilltop, opened fire on the post at approximately 12:15 am, also leaving one soldier injured. The Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts are a federal paramilitary force tasked with internal security and border guarding duties in the region.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Diamer, Abdul Hameed, provided details of the attack, stating that nine personnel were present at the checkpoint when the unknown armed men initiated fire. The martyred soldiers were identified as Naib Subedar Khush Dad and Havaldar Ashraf. Lance Naik Sajid Ali sustained an abdominal injury and was promptly shifted to the Regional Headquarters Hospital in Chilas for treatment. Police and senior officials, including the DIG and DPO, reached the site within 15-20 minutes of the incident.
Evidence collected from the hilltop firing position included two grenades and ten spent shells, while the checkpoint itself bore 17 bullet holes. The terrorists successfully fled the area. In response, a large contingent of the Elite Force and additional police has been deployed to strengthen the post and launch a search operation to apprehend the attackers. SSP Hameed confirmed that raids are being conducted, though no organization has yet claimed responsibility for the assault.
This attack echoes a previous incident in December 2023, when ten people were killed in a firing on a passenger bus in the same area. GB’s Interior Minister, Shamsul Haq Lone, stated that there was no prior intelligence regarding the attack and condemned the perpetrators as enemies of the country. He affirmed that the government would pursue them and bring them to their “ultimate fate.” Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan has also taken strict notice of the incident and ordered the pursuit of the culprits.
