Four terrorists were killed after security forces foiled a suicide attack on a military camp in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali district, state-run PTV reported on Friday.
“According to sources, a khawarij attempted to carry out a suicide attack against security forces in Mir Ali. One kharji rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into the wall of the security forces’ camp after which three more khawarij tried to enter the camp,” the report said.
“As a result of security forces’ timely and courageous action, the three khawarij were killed outside the camp. Security forces did not suffer any losses in the incident. In the last two days alone, 88 terrorists supported by the Afghan Taliban have been killed,” the report said.
Khawarij is a term that the state uses to refer to terrorists.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid tribute to security forces for foiling the attack and praised their professionalism.
“Salute to the brave soldiers who thwarted the evil intentions of Khawarij,” Naqvi said, according to a statement issued by the ministry.
“Security forces took timely action and brought the khawarij to an exemplary end,” he said, adding that the nation was “proud of the brave soldiers”.
The development comes a day after the ISPR’s said[1] that 34 “India-backed” terrorists had been killed in multiple operations in KP’s North Waziristan, South Waziristan, and Bannu districts over the previous three days.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks, especially in KP and Balochistan, predominantly targeting the police, law enforcement agencies’ personnel, and security forces. Attacks increased after the banned TTP broke[2] a ceasefire agreement with the government in 2022.
Last week, a lieutenant colonel and a major were among 11 military personnel martyred[3] during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in KP’s Orakzai, in which 19 terrorists were reported killed. The same week, the ISPR reported that 30 terrorists who were involved in the incident had been killed[4] in a “retribution operation”.
A day after the Orakzai operation, another officer was martyred[5] in an operation in Dera Ismail Khan, in which seven terrorists were also killed, according to the ISPR.
In July, the government designated[6] the TTP as Fitna al Khawarij, mandating all institutions to use the term khariji (outcast) when referring to the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on Pakistan.
Islamabad has been raising concerns over the presence of TTP terrorists in Afghanistan and has repeatedly urged[7] Kabul to take action to prevent these attacks, even before the most recent deadly border clashes[8] between the two countries this past week. However, Afghan authorities have consistently denied the allegations.
Pakistan has also accused[9] India of sponsoring cross-border terrorism. In May, the government designated all terrorist organisations in Balochistan as Fitna al Hindustan — a phrase aimed at framing India’s alleged role in terrorism as a deliberate destabilisation strategy.
The development also comes tensions have flared between Pakistan and Afghanistan over the past few days after the two countries engaged in border clashes over the weekend. Tensions escalated to the point where both sides agreed[10] to a temporary ceasefire 48-hour ceasefire after Islamabad carried out strikes in Kabul and Kandahar.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made it clear[11] that he expected Kabul to make the first move if it was serious about resolving the issue of cross-border terrorism through talks.