Two police officers, four Pakistani Taliban killed in rare raid in Azad Kashmir
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan: Security forces acting on intelligence raided a militant hideout in Azad Kashmir, triggering a shootout that left two police officers and four Pakistani Taliban fighters dead, police said Thursday.
The rare overnight raid was carried out in the Rawalakot district, according to Abdul Jabbar, the police chief in Kashmir, which is split between Pakistan and India and claimed in full by both countries in its entirety.
Jabbar said the killed militants were members of the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP and are allies of the Afghan Taliban. He alleged the TTP is acting as a proxy for India and said police thwarted an attempt by the insurgents to create a base for future attacks.
There was no immediate response from New Delhi.
While Pakistani security forces frequently target TTP hideouts in the restive northwest and elsewhere, such operations in Kashmir are rare. TTP is a separate group and has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Many TTP leaders and fighters have since found sanctuary in Afghanistan.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
20 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
Over 100 inmates escape from Pakistan prison after earthquake evacuation in Karachi
More than 100 inmates escaped from a prison and at least one was killed in a shootout in the southern city of Karachi overnight after they were temporarily moved out of their cells following mild earthquake tremors, officials said Tuesday. Kashif Abbasi, a senior police official, said 216 inmates who were involved in ordinary crimes fled the prison in the capital of Sindh province before dawn. Of those, 78 had been recaptured. No one convicted or facing trial as a militant is among those who fled, he said. One prisoner was killed and three security officials were wounded in the ensuing shootout, but the situation has been brought under control, Abbasi said, adding that police are conducting raids to capture the remaining escapees. Ziaul Hassan, the home minister of Sindh province, said the jailbreak occurred after prisoners were evacuated from their cells for safety during the earthquake. The inmates were still outside of the cells when a group suddenly attacked guards, seized their weapons, opened fire and fled. Though prisoners have escaped while being transporting to court for trial, prison beaks are not common in Pakistan, where authorities have enhanced security since 2013 when the Pakistani Taliban freed more than 200 inmates in an attack on a prison in the northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district.
Arab News
34 minutes ago
- Arab News
Pakistani delegation demands resumption of ‘comprehensive' dialogue with India in briefing to OIC envoys
ISLAMABAD: A high-level Pakistani delegation set up by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week briefed members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the United Nations, calling for the resumption of a 'comprehensive dialogue' with India to resolve the Kashmir dispute and other issues, Pakistan's mission to the UN said. Led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the nine-member parliamentary delegation arrived in New York on Monday as the first stop in a diplomatic mission to present Pakistan's position in world capitals following Islamabad's recent military conflict with India. The group headed by Bhutto Zardari will visit New York, Washington DC, London and Brussels. Another delegation, led by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, will also visit Moscow. Tensions between Pakistan and India are high after they struck a ceasefire on May 10 following the most intense military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades. Both countries accuse the other of supporting militancy on each other's soil — a charge both capitals deny. The latest escalation last month took place following weeks of tensions after India blamed Pakistan for supporting an April 22 attack on the Kashmir territory it governs that killed 26 tourists. Pakistan denied involvement in the incident and called for an international probe. Both countries traded missiles, artillery fire and drone strikes before Washington brokered a ceasefire on May 10. 'He [Bhutto Zardari] reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to peace, restraint, and diplomacy, and called for the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty, full respect for the ceasefire, and the resumption of a comprehensive dialogue with India, with the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute at its core,' Pakistan's Permanent Mission to the United Nations said in a statement on Monday. Following the attack at the Pahalgam tourist resort in April, India suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan. The move drew a sharp response from Islamabad, which said any attempts to divert or stop the flow of its waters by India would be considered an 'act of war.' About 80 percent of Pakistani farms depend on the Indus system, as do nearly all hydropower projects serving the country of some 250 million. 'Mr. Bhutto expressed grave concern at the unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — a move that Pakistan considers a blatant act of weaponizing water and a violation of international and treaty obligations,' the statement said. The former Pakistani foreign minister thanked OIC countries for their efforts and role aimed at de-escalation, mediation and ceasefire during the conflict. He highlighted that the only path to peace was in dialogue, engagement and diplomacy. 'Mr. Bilawal Bhutto underlined that OIC has emerged as the moral conscience of the world in these difficult times and thanked the OIC member states for their steadfast support for the people of Jammu and Kashmir,' the statement said. The statement said that the OIC's permanent representatives appreciated Pakistan's briefing and reaffirmed their solidarity with the country. 'They reiterated their concern over the worsening security situation in South Asia and stressed the importance of upholding the principles of the UN Charter and international law and in this regard, the sanctity of treaties, including the Indus Waters Treaty,' Pakistan's permanent mission to the UN said.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Over 100 inmates escape Karachi prison damaged by earthquake— official
KARACHI: Over 100 inmates managed to escape from the Malir prison in Karachi late Monday night after the outer gate of the jail was damaged by tremors this week, a senior Sindh government official confirmed. Speaking to reporters late Monday night, Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar said inmates panicked when tremors hit Karachi late Monday night. He said around 700 to 1,000 prisoners gathered outside their barracks near the jail's outer gate in panic when the tremors shook the area. Lanjar said it became difficult for jail authorities to control a mob of 700 to 1,000 prisoners near the gate, which had been damaged by the quake. 'The gate which you can see behind me was damaged [by the earthquake] due to which the prisoners were able to escape,' the Sindh official told reporters. He said that while authorities were counting the number of prisoners who had escaped, as per initial estimates, around 80-100 prisoners had managed to flee. 'As per what the deputy inspector general of police east has told me so far, so far 46 prisoners have been re-arrested,' Lanjar said, adding that around 18-20 prisoners were at large. He said no 'hardened criminal' had managed to escape the jail following the late-night chaos. In response to a question, he said one prisoner had been killed in clashes with police during the jailbreak while five persons, including both prisoners and police officials, were injured.
