RAWALPINDI:
Security forces killed 13 terrorists involved in numerous activities, including facilitating a suicide bombing, abductions, and the targeted killing of government officials and civilians, during an intelligence-based operation in Dera Ismail Khan, the military’s media wing said in a statement.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the security forces launched an intelligence-based operation on reports of the presence of terrorists belonging to the Indian proxy group ‘Fitna al Khwarij’, in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday.
During the operation, troops killed 13 Indian-sponsored terrorists and seized weapons and ammunition. The ISPR said the terrorists, killed in the operation, were involved in activities including facilitating a suicide bombing attack in Daraban in December 2023, the abduction and target killing of government officials and innocent civilians.
The statement added that an operation was underway to clear the area of remaining terrorists, reaffirming that Pakistan’s security forces remain determined to eliminate the menace of Indian-backed terrorism from the country.
Dar urges Afghan govt to take ‘concrete’ action
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar voiced strong concern over the presence of more than two dozen terrorist groups inside Afghanistan, urging the Taliban authorities to take “concrete and verifiable” action to stop their soil from being used for terrorism against neighbours, particularly Pakistan.
At the inaugural meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Afghanistan on Wednesday, he said organisations such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Balochistan Liberation Army, Majeed Brigade and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement were working with Al-Qaeda and posed “a grave threat to regional and international peace and security.”
“Our law enforcement officials and civilians continue to make enormous sacrifices to terrorism emanating from Afghanistan. Earlier this month, 12 Pakistani soldiers were martyred in our bordering regions, while combating TTP terrorist infiltrators from Afghanistan,” Dar said.
He added that digital platforms and social media were also being exploited by these groups for propaganda and incitement to violence. “This cannot be tolerated under any circumstances,” he emphasised.
Dar proposed the creation of a working group of experts from OIC member states to prepare a roadmap with reciprocal steps addressing the full range of issues facing Afghanistan.
The deputy prime minister stressed that Pakistan remained committed to supporting a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan but said this required “mutual respect, sincerity and demonstration of necessary political will by the Taliban authorities to help us to help themselves.”
“No country desired to see normalcy and stability return to Afghanistan more than Pakistan,” he said, adding that the destinies of both neighbours were “intertwined.”
Dar said the meeting came at a “critical juncture” as Afghanistan had entered a phase of relative peace after decades of conflict. He extended condolences over the recent earthquake in Afghanistan, noting Pakistan had dispatched 105 tonnes of aid in response.
He warned that as global attention shifted to other conflicts, the world must not lose focus on Afghanistan, which remained under sanctions and faced “terrorism, narcotics, a dysfunctional banking system, unemployment, poverty, human rights concerns and a political dispensation that remained unrecognised after more than four years in power.”
“A political stalemate and lack of Afghanistan’s integration with the international community cannot continue indefinitely,” Dar said. “As fellow OIC members, regional partners and neighbours, we must use this platform to take initiatives that can help pull Afghanistan out of its isolation.”
Dar outlined six steps for the OIC group: securing humanitarian funding without political conditions, helping stabilise Afghanistan’s economy and banking sector, engaging the Taliban multilaterally to meet international obligations, supporting UN-led efforts to provide alternative livelihoods to poppy farmers, pressing the Taliban to lift restrictions on women and girls, and urging them to create conditions for the safe return of Afghan refugees.
“The OIC Group must urge the Afghan interim authorities to create conditions necessary for facilitating the re-settlement of Afghan returnees from neighbouring countries and to ensure their integration into the political and social fabric of Afghanistan for lasting peace and stability,” he said, adding that the international community should also share the burden.
PM, President commend security forces
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised security forces for the operation in Dera Ismail Khan. “Those terrorists who carried out the suicide attack in Daraban in December 2023, causing harm to innocent civilians, have been successfully sent to hell in this recent operation,” he said in a statement.
He commended the military and security forces for their professionalism, saying they remained central to Pakistan’s counter-terrorism campaign. “Through the professional skills of the Pakistan Army and security forces, we will uproot the monster of terrorism from the country,” the PM maintained.
He added that all state institutions were fully mobilised to ensure the elimination of militancy. “All government institutions are fully active for the complete eradication of terrorism from the country,” he concluded.
President Asif Ali Zardari congratulated the nation and security forces for a successful operation against terrorists in Dera Ismail Khan. In his statement, he praised the bravery of the soldiers and their role in ensuring national safety. “Our soldiers’ courage and sacrifices make every citizen of the country safe,” President Zardari said.
He said the fight against terrorism was critical to securing Pakistan’s future. “This struggle against terrorism is the guarantee of Pakistan’s peaceful future,” he said.
Zardari added that the sacrifices made to uphold the authority of the state would be remembered in history. “Every sacrifice made to establish the writ of the state will be written in golden words in history,” he said.
“The people of Pakistan have always stood with their martyrs and ghazis, and rejected terrorism,” he said. “Saving the young generation from extremism is our collective responsibility,” he concluded.
Shehbaz warns Kabul
Pakistan has been continuously facing terrorists infiltration from the border areas of Afghanistan. Last week, PM Shehbaz categorically warned Kabul to make a clear choice between Pakistan and the Khawarij, saying Afghanistan could not host militants destabilising its neighbour while at the same time expecting normal ties with Islamabad.
“Pakistan will deliver a befitting riposte to terrorism,” he declared, stressing that “there will be no ambiguity or hesitation in it.” He said that the masterminds and facilitators of terrorist attacks in Pakistan are operating from Afghan soil with Indian backing.
“Afghanistan has been categorically told it must choose between Islamabad and the Khawarij,” he added. The PM noted that Afghan nationals had been involved in recent attacks after infiltrating across the border, underscoring the urgency of repatriating undocumented Afghan residents.
Rejecting what he termed the politicisation of terrorism, Shehbaz warned that “those who advocate for Khawarij or facilitate India’s terror proxies are acting as their agents and will be dealt with accordingly.”
The statement came after 19 soldiers were martyred and 45 terrorists linked to the Indian-sponsored Fitna al Khwarij network were killed in three separate intelligence-based operations conducted in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa between September 10 and 13.
