Thirty-one dead after militants storm police headquarters in northern Pakistan

Militants have stormed a police headquarters in northern Pakistan, killing at least 31 people and wounding more than 100 others in a coordinated suicide blast and gun battle.

The attack began on Friday afternoon when a vehicle packed with explosives was driven into the Old Police Lines complex in Kohat, a town of some 220,000 people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The bomber struck just as officers and their families were gathering for prayers at a mosque inside the compound, collapsing part of the building and sending thick smoke over the city.

Following the blast, a group of heavily armed gunmen tried to force their way inside. A senior police official told AFP on Saturday that an exchange of fire was still ongoing, with several militants holed up in the compound's Special Branch section. Among the dead are 16 police personnel, including senior counter-terrorism officers.

Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), claimed responsibility for the assault, stating its Al Badr suicide unit carried out the operation. Another group, Inqilabi Islami Pakistan, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda, also claimed the attack on Telegram.

A crisis on two fronts

The bloodshed in Kohat underscores the severe internal security crisis gripping Pakistan at a time when its military is facing unprecedented pressure to look abroad. Under the newly extended "Mecca joint defence agreement"—a mutual defence pact signed with Saudi Arabia and Turkey—Islamabad has committed to defending Saudi territory if it is attacked.

That commitment, designed to secure billions of dollars in loans for Pakistan's struggling economy, is looking increasingly risky. With the Middle East conflict escalating and Iran-backed Houthi rebels hitting Saudi territory, there are quiet but deep anxieties in Islamabad. Under the pact, an attack on one is an attack on all. If Saudi Arabia activates the agreement, Pakistan could be forced to deploy its front-line troops.

Such a move would be highly explosive at home. Pakistan is home to the world's second-largest Shia Muslim population, many of whom would fiercely oppose fighting the Houthis. It would also poison relations with neighbouring Iran, potentially worsening the security situation along Pakistan's already volatile western borders.

"It will be a disaster for the country if Pakistan jumps into war," Raja Nasir Abbas, an opposition leader in Pakistan's senate, said, pointing out that the public and parliament were kept in the dark about the pact's terms. "We are already facing two lethal insurgencies... if we take Saudi Arabia's side in this conflict, the country will face chaos."