Latest news with #militantviolence
Arab News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Gunmen kill two traffic police officers in Pakistan's restive northwest
PESHAWAR: Unidentified gunmen shot dead two traffic police officers in Pakistan's northwestern district of Lakki Marwat on Tuesday, the latest in a series of attacks in a region with a long history of militant violence, according to an official statement. The officers were ambushed on Longkhel Road near Gulbaz Dehqan village while they were en route to duty. No group has claimed responsibility, but similar shootings in the past have frequently been carried out by militants from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which remains active in the area. 'We share the grief of the bereaved families,' Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said in a statement, confirming that two traffic police officers had been killed 'after unidentified assailants opened fire on them.' 'The families of the martyrs will not be left alone and will be fully supported,' he added while directing law enforcement agencies to arrest those responsible without delay. Lakki Marwat, located near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, has witnessed repeated assaults on police along with other government functionaries and residents in recent years. In 2022, six officers were killed in a TTP-claimed ambush, and in 2023, a police station was attacked with guns and explosives, killing four. The district was also the site of one of Pakistan's deadliest militant attacks in 2010, when a suicide bomber targeted a volleyball match, killing over 100 people. Authorities in the area have struggled to maintain security amid a resurgence of insurgent violence I recent years.
Arab News
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Militant violence in Pakistan drops 32% in second quarter of 2025 — report
KARACHI: Pakistan witnessed a decline in militant violence by nearly 32% during the second quarter of 2025, an Islamabad-based think tank said in its report this week, pointing out that the attacks have spread to the country's 'new or less prepared regions.' Pakistan has seen an uptick in violence in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, both bordering Afghanistan, in recent months. The Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) regularly target security forces in their bid to impose their strict brand of Islam across the country. In Balochistan, separatist ethnic militants demand independence from the center, whom they accuse of exploiting the province's natural resources. Islamabad denies the allegations. The Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) said in its report on Monday that the number of casualties during the second quarter dropped to 615 from 900 in the first quarter. 'With at least 615 fatalities and 388 injuries — among civilians, security personnel, and outlaws — in about 273 incidents of violence, including terror attacks and counterterror operations, Pakistan witnessed a nearly 32% decline in overall violence, and several other promising trends in its security landscape for the second quarter of 2025,' the report said. The report pointed out that the casualties suffered by security personnel and civilians combined during the second quarter, 282, were still less than the total number of outlaws' fatalities, 333, in the same period. It said this amounted to over 15% less comparative losses among civilians and security officials. The CRSS report also said Pakistan's Balochistan and KP provinces saw 40% and 32% less violence, respectively, compared to the first quarter. It added that violence-linked fatalities dropped from 567 to 389 in KP and from 317 to 190 in Balochistan, indicating a possible strategic breakthrough on the back of a 'proactive hunt-neutralize-capture campaign.' 'While the terrorism and insurgency-induced violence receded in these conflict-hit provinces, both regions continued to bear the brunt of violence, accounting for over 94% of the total fatalities and 93% incidents of violence recorded in this quarter,' the report said. The CRSS said that while the TTP continued to lead the violence in KP, Balochistan remained a 'parallel epicenter of unrest' marked by a mix of separatist militancy and targeted violence, particularly against state forces. 'The spread of militancy into previously calmer areas is also concerning,' the report said, pointing out that Punjab recorded a surge in fatalities by 162% during the second quarter. The number of casualties in Punjab rose from 8 in the first quarter to 21 in the second one. The Azad Kashmir region, which reported zero fatalities in the first quarter, recorded six casualties in the second one while Islamabad and Sindh remained largely unaffected. 'While the intensity of violence has eased in traditional hotspots, its spread into new or less prepared regions will require continued attention and policy adjustments,' the report said. The outlaws suffered the majority of all fatalities in this quarter, over 54%, which the report said amounts to 333. Civilians suffered 153 casualties or 25% of the total while security and government officials suffered 129 fatalities at 21% during the second quarter. Civilians suffered 107 terror attacks compared to security officials who suffered 91 while the outlaws were targeted in 75 security operations. Moreover, civilians suffered 249 injuries compared to security officials, who suffered 120 injuries and outlaws with only 19, the report shared. CRSS said that the least amount of injuries suffered by militants indicates 'a high degree of lethal precision in state-led counter-terrorism operations.'
Arab News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan army chief vows retribution as 13 soldiers killed in militant attack in northwest
KARACHI: Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, on Saturday vowed retribution after 13 soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing on an armed forces convoy in the country's northwestern tribal belt, in one of the deadliest attacks on security personnel in recent months. The military said the convoy was targeted in Mir Ali, a town in North Waziristan near the Afghan border, when an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into one of the lead vehicles after a failed attempt by a suicide bomber to detonate earlier. Three civilians, including two children and a woman, were also injured in the blast. Militant violence has surged in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in recent years, particularly in the tribal region, where attacks have targeted soldiers, police, government officials and civilian residents. Saturday's assault marked one of the highest single-day tolls for security forces this year. The military said it was followed by the killing of 14 militants in a firefight during a clearance operation launched by the security forces. 'Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir … visited Corps Headquarters Peshawar today, where he was briefed in detail on the prevailing security situation and ongoing counter-terrorism operations,' the military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement. 'During the visit, the Field Marshal also attended funeral of Shuhada [martyrs] of the incident at Bannu Garrison and visited the injured at Bannu CMH [Combined Military Hospital].' 'Reiterating the state's uncompromising stance, the Chief of Army Staff vowed that all facilitators, abettors, and perpetrators of terrorism will be relentlessly pursued and brought to justice— without exception and at all costs, and the face of true perpetrator of terrorism in the region will be exposed to the entire world,' the statement added. Most militant attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been claimed by fighters belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of armed factions that the Pakistani state refers to as khawarij — a term rooted in Islamic history used to describe a violent extremist sect that rebelled against authority and declared other Muslims as apostates. The army described the assault as a 'cowardly attack planned and orchestrated by the terrorist state of India' and executed by its 'proxy Fitna Al-Khawarij.' It said Pakistani forces intercepted the initial suicide bomber, but the attackers rammed a second explosive-laden vehicle into the convoy, killing 13 soldiers. 'The blood of every innocent Pakistani shall always be avenged,' the ISPR quoted the army chief as saying. 'Any attempt to undermine Pakistan's internal stability will be met with swift and decisive retribution.' He also called for increased institutional support for civilian law enforcement agencies, particularly the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, urging government stakeholders to prioritize capacity enhancement while reaffirming the army's commitment to assist. In a separate statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, offering prayers for the fallen soldiers and condolences to their families. He praised the security forces for their response, including the killing of 14 militants, and said the entire nation saluted its martyrs. 'We are determined to eliminate every form of terrorism from the country,' Sharif said.
