Latest news with #shahadat
Arab News
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Two soldiers killed as militants ambush security forces convoy in northwest Pakistan— army
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan military's media wing said on Monday that two soldiers were killed were militants ambushed a security forces' convoy in the country's northwestern province bordering Afghanistan. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said it conducted an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the northwestern Lakki Marwat district on Sunday night, where five Pakistani Taliban militants were killed. In the second IBO in the northwestern Bannu district, the military said two militants were killed by security forces. However, in the North Waziristan district, Pakistani Taliban militants ambushed a security forces convoy in which two militants were killed and also two soldiers. 'However, during the intense fire exchange, two brave sons of soil, Sepoy Farhad Ali Turi (age: 29 years, resident of District Kurram) and Lance Naik Sabir Afridi (age: 32 years, resident of District Kohat) having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat [martyrdom],' the ISPR said. The military's media wing said sanitization operations were being conducted to eliminate any other 'Khawarji' found in the area, the term the army uses for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or Pakistani Taliban militants. 'Security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism perpetrated by Indian proxies, and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,' the ISPR said. The Pakistan military described TTP militants as 'Indian-sponsored,' emphasizing its earlier allegations that New Delhi funds and arms militants in Pakistan. India, however, denies using militant proxies in Pakistan. Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP since a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban and Islamabad broke down in November 2022. The TTP and other militant groups have frequently targeted security forces convoys and check-posts, besides carrying out targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months. Pakistan says the takeover of Kabul by the Afghan Taliban in 2021 has emboldened the TTP as it is able to operate out of and launch attacks from safe havens in neighboring Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegation.
Arab News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia agree to deepen anti-narcotics cooperation amid growing drug seizures
Seven soldiers killed as separatists attack security vehicle in southwest Pakistan KARACHI: The Pakistan army said on Tuesday seven soldiers were killed after militants attacked a security vehicle in the southwestern Balochistan province, where the military is fighting an intensifying separatist insurgency. The army said the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has targeted the vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Mach in Kachhi District. 'Resultantly, seven brave sons of soil embraced shahadat [martyrdom],' a statement from the army said. The military accused the BLA, the strongest of a number of insurgent groups long operating in Balochistan, of being a proxy of India. 'Nefarious designs of India and its proxies operating on Pakistani soil will be defeated by the valiant security forces, law enforcement agencies and the brave nation of Pakistan,' the military statement said. The latest attack is the worst since March when the BLA carried out a train hijacking that resulted in the deaths of 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers. At least 33 insurgents were also killed. In what was previously a low-level insurgency, the militants have in recent months stepped up their activities using new tactics to inflict high death and injury tolls and target Pakistan's military. It has also targeted Chinese interests. The BLA seeks independence for Balochistan, a province located in Pakistan's southwest and bordering Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west. It is the biggest of several ethnic insurgent groups that have battled the federal government for decades, saying it unfairly exploits Balochistan's rich gas and mineral resources. Balochistan's mountainous border region serves as a safe haven and training ground for the Baloch and other insurgents. The BLA often targets infrastructure and security forces in Balochistan, but has also truck in other areas — most notably the southern port city of Karachi. The insurgents target Pakistan's army and Chinese interests, in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, accusing Beijing of helping Islamabad to exploit the province. Militants have killed Chinese citizens working in the region and attacked Beijing's consulate in Karachi. Balochistan is an important part of China's $65 billion investment in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a wing of President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road initiative. It is home to key mining projects, including Reko Diq, run by mining giant Barrick Gold ( and believed to be one of the world's largest gold and copper mines. China also operates a gold and copper mine in the province. The decades-old insurgency has continued to keep the province of some 15 million people unstable and created security concerns around Pakistan's plans to access untapped resources. It is Pakistan's largest province by area, but smallest by population. Balochistan also has a long Arabian Sea coastline, not far from the Gulf's Strait of Hormuz oil shipping lane. Islamabad accuses India and Afghanistan of backing the militants to damage Pakistan's relations with China, a charge both countries deny. With inputs from Reuters
