Suspected militants open fire on UN vehicle in Pakistan, two escape unharmed – police
PESHAWAR: Unidentified gunmen targeted a vehicle carrying two United Nations staff in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday but left them unharmed, a police official confirmed, as Islamabad grapples with a rise in militant attacks in the country’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province bordering Afghanistan.
A police spokesman for Pakistan’s northwestern Tank district confirmed that unidentified gunmen had opened indiscriminate fire on a UN vehicle near the town of Khatala in Dera Ismail Khan district, adding that the two UN staff inside were unharmed.
“The UN vehicle was attacked on its way from Dh Khan to Tank,” police spokesman Mohammed Ibrahim told Arab News, “but the two personnel were safe and reached the district administration compound.”
Pakistan’s security forces have been struggling with a surge in attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group, in the country’s western provinces bordering Afghanistan since an uneasy ceasefire between the government and outlawed groups collapsed in November 2022.
The TTP, which seeks to impose its own strict form of Islam in the South Asian country, has carried out some of Pakistan’s deadliest attacks on civilians and security forces since 2007, before the military conducted multiple operations to oust them from tribal areas.
However, the banned organisation in a statement distanced itself from the attack and blamed Pakistani forces for carrying out such attacks.
“Pakistani security agencies are conducting military operations against these organisations to salvage their reputation and secure dollars from global powers,” TTP spokesman Muhammad Khorasani said in a statement.
“The TTP’s objectives are clear and we will continue the war for our objectives – against the security forces,” he added.
Repeated attacks by the TTP on Pakistani security forces have strained relations between Islamabad and Kabul. Pakistan has accused the Taliban of providing cover for TTP fighters to attack Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations and insists it will not allow any group to launch attacks on other countries from its country.
Relations between the two countries have been further strained since Pakistan began targeting what it calls “illegal” migrants last year after a surge in suicide bombings. Islamabad has blamed Afghan nationals for the surge in attacks, without providing evidence. Pakistan also alleges that Afghan nationals are involved in smuggling, militant violence and other crimes in the country.
