PESHAWAR: Pakistani security forces killed 10 militants, including four insurgent commanders, in a shootout in a former Taliban stronghold in the country’s northwest Tuesday, the military said.
According to a military statement, troops also seized a cache of weapons during the operation in the district of South Waziristan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the border with Afghanistan.
The military did not identify the militant group to which the fighters belonged.
It said the slain fighters were linked to past attacks on civilians and security forces and that the insurgents were planning to carry out more attacks. The military provided no further details.
South Waziristan served as a base for the Pakistani Taliban and other militants until a few years ago, when the army said it cleared the region of insurgents. But occasional attacks have continued.
The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, are a separate insurgent group from the Afghan Taliban, although Pakistan’s militant groups are often interlinked with those across the border in Afghanistan.
Pakistani security forces kill 10 militants in shootout in northwest
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Pakistani security forces kill 10 militants in shootout in northwest
- Military said the slain fighters were linked to past attacks on civilians and security forces
- Said the insurgents were planning to carry out more attacks, did not identify group
Pakistan lauds female polio workers as push to end virus intensifies
- Acknowledgement comes as Pakistan marks annual campaign promoting women’s rights and safety
- Ayesha Raza Farooq says the real strength of the polio program is its female workers and their bravery
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top polio official on Tuesday praised the country’s female vaccination workers for their “extraordinary contribution” to the eradication drive, saying their efforts were central to ending the virus as Pakistan marked the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an annual campaign to promote women’s rights and safety.
Female health workers administer the majority of polio drops in Pakistan, going door to door in remote, high-risk and conservative communities where women are best positioned to gain access to children.
Pakistan is one of only two countries in the world, alongside neighboring Afghanistan, where wild poliovirus remains endemic. The country has so far reported 30 cases this year.
“What you do is extraordinary, and your courage in all circumstances is the reason Pakistan will soon be polio-free,” said Ayesha Raza Farooq, the prime minister’s focal person on polio eradication, during a meeting with frontline workers in Islamabad.
“Pakistan’s real strength in this program is its female polio workers,” she added.
Farooq said she had listened to the concerns of field teams and assured them of full government support.
She maintained that female vaccinators had shown “remarkable bravery” despite difficult terrain, security concerns and community resistance in some areas.
In October, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) named Farooq Pakistan’s first gender champion for her leadership in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in public health and in the eradication effort.
Pakistan is scheduled to kick off the last nationwide anti-polio vaccination drive of 2025, according to the National Emergencies Operation Center (NEOC), with an aim to inoculate 45 million children.
The NEOC has also urged parents to coordinate with health workers during the campaign.
