Two policemen and a civilian were killed in an exchange of fire between two rival groups, he said.
Several others were injured and a mob comprising members of a group set several shops on fire in Tirah Bazar.
Activists of the Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat, a front for the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba, had organised a rally in Kohat city to protest the clashes in Rawalpindi.
