Four soldiers were martyred in a gunfight with terrorists in Waziristan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, the Pakistan Army’s media wing said.
A statement from the Indian Army’s Integrated Services Public Relations (ISPR) said 24-year-old Captain Muhammad Osama bin Arshad, a resident of Rawalpindi district, was martyred in a gunfight between security forces and terrorists in the district.
“During the intense engagement, our troops effectively struck the terrorist base resulting in two terrorists being sent to hell.”
The ISPR added that he had led his troops on the frontline and “fought bravely and accepted martyrdom by making the ultimate sacrifice.”
The banned militant group, the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack.
Paying tributes to the martyrs, Prime Minister Sharif said the fight against terrorism would continue till the menace of terrorism was eradicated.
“The nation salutes our soldiers for their ironclad stand against terrorists,” he said.
Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the nation would forever remember the sacrifice of the martyrs and offered condolences to the captain’s family.
The funeral was held at Chaklala Garrison in Rawalpindi and was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz, the Minister for Defence, the Minister for Information, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir and a large number of serving and retired army personnel, soldiers and relatives.
“The Prime Minister said these sacrifices reaffirm our resolve to defeat terrorism in all its forms for a peaceful and prosperous Pakistan. He said the country will take a resolute stance against foreign-sponsored terrorists and their sponsors and these enemies of Pakistan will be defeated across the board through a multi-domain strategy based on a whole-system approach,” ISPR said.
In the South Waziristan incident, the ISPR said 30-year-old sepoy Asad Ullah, a resident of Mitiali area, 28-year-old sepoy from Dera Ismail Khan area and 24-year-old non-combatant Zain Ali, a resident of Bhawalnagar area, “fought bravely” in a gunfight with terrorists and were martyred.
The ISPR said sanitisation operations are being carried out to eliminate terrorists found in the two districts.
“Pakistan’s security forces are determined to rid the country of the menace of terrorism and the sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthens our resolve.”
Last week, security forces carried out two separate operations in Khyber and Lakki Marwat provinces, killing nine terrorists.
Pakistan has seen an increase in terrorist activities over the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan provinces, since the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.
Pakistan recorded 1,524 violence-related deaths and 1,463 injuries in 789 terror attacks and counter-terrorism operations in 2023, the highest in six years, according to an annual security report published by the Centre for Research and Security Studies.
KP and Balochistan are the main epicenters of violence, accounting for over 90 percent of the total deaths and 84 percent of attacks, including terror incidents and security force operations.
Additional reporting by Tahir Khan.
