Daily Times

Thirteen terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Wednesday.

After the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke a fragile ceasefire agreement with the government in 2022, the country witnessed a sharp uptick in the number of attacks targeting security forces and other law enforcement agencies, particularly in Balochistan and KP.

According to the interior ministry, in the past 10 months, 948 out of 1,566 terrorism incidents reported occurred in KP, resulting in 583 deaths (out of a total of 924 martyrdom).

The recent operation came after 16 soldiers were martyred on Saturday when terrorists attacked a checkpost in Makeen in South Waziristan, while eight terrorists were also killed as the armed forces responded.

According to a statement by the military’s media affairs wing, security forces conducted an operation in “general area Sararogha, South Waziristan District on reported presence of khwarij” on December 24-25.

The ISPR said security forces effectively engaged “khwarij location, as a result of which, 13 khwarij were sent to hell”.

“Killed khwarij remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as killing of innocent civilians,” the military said.

“Sanitisation operation is being carried out to eliminate any other kharji found in the area, as security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country,” it added.

Separately, two Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were martyred and four injured by a roadside bomb on Wednesday in Balochistan’s Turbat district, officials said.

The incident occurred in the Dasht Tehsil of Kharan, situated between Turbat and Gwadar, when a group of Arab sheikhs were returning to their camp after hunting, Dasht Assistant Commissioner (AC) Hameed Korai told the media.

The Arabs remained safe, AC Korai confirmed, adding that “two FC personnel were martyred while four were injured and were immediately shifted to Turbat.”

The same was confirmed by senior local administration official Abdul Hameed to AFP.

A second local administration official also confirmed to AFP the details of the attack on condition of anonymity and said the Arabs belonged to the Qatari royal family, adding that they had provided “extra security” after the blast.

Neither official said which members of the Qatari royal family – which numbers in the thousands – were in the hunting party.

It was also unclear whether the Qataris were specifically targeted.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Moreover, two police constables were martyred in Sindh’s Shikarpur district on Wednesday after unknown assailants opened fire on them, a statement from the Sindh Inspector General’s (IGP) operations room said.

According to the statement issued by the operations room to the media, the two constables, identified as Altaf Brohi and Abdul Qadir Qallati, were “in civil dress” and eating at a restaurant in the Garhi Taigo area when unidentified suspects approached the restaurant and shot them before fleeing the scene. Both constables embraced martyrdom.

The IGP’s operations room added that the constables’ bodies were shifted to Shikarpur Civil Hospital. This information was verified by Khanpur Deputy Superintendent of Police Sagheer Ahmed Mugheeri.

Meanwhile, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjhar sought details about the incident from the Senior Superintendents of Police in Kashmore and Shikarpur, before vowing “thorough and systematic action” against the suspects.

“The criminals who martyr police officers, as well as their gangs and facilitators, must be eliminated,” Lanjhar said in a statement issued by his office. “Ongoing targeted operations against dacoits must be intensified.”

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed “grief and anger” over the incident and the martyrdom of two constables, according to a statement from his office.

The CM ordered the Larkana Deputy Inspector General of Police to immediately arrest the suspects and submit a report.

“All government machinery should be used to restore peace in the area,” the CM was quoted as saying in the statement.