Militant violence surged along Pakistan’s north-western border with Afghanistan over the past week, beginning on 28 June when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a Pakistan Army convoy near Mir Ali in North Waziristan. Security officials said at least 13 soldiers were killed and nearly 30 people — mostly civilians — were injured when the blast collapsed nearby buildings. The Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction, aligned with the Pakistani Taliban, later claimed responsibility. In a follow-up attack hours later, a motorcycle bomber struck a Quick Reaction Force vehicle in the Ghulam Khan area, wounding six more soldiers. The violence spread on 2 July to neighbouring Bajaur district, where a roadside improvised explosive device hit the vehicle of Assistant Commissioner Faisal Sultan on Nawagai Road near Khar. Police confirmed that Sultan and four others, including two police guards, were killed and 11 people were injured. No group has claimed the Bajaur bombing, but authorities said the method was consistent with recent militant tactics in the tribal belt. The latest incidents underscore a steady uptick in attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in 2021, which Islamabad says has emboldened Pakistani Taliban affiliates operating from the border region. According to an AFP tally, nearly 300 people have been killed in militant strikes across Pakistan so far this year. Security forces have stepped up patrols and intelligence operations, while federal and provincial officials vowed to reinforce protective measures for both military convoys and civil administrators in the affected districts.