ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Taliban on Wednesday announced it would launch a Ramadan offensive against security forces, after claiming an attack which the military said killed at least six of its soldiers.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a separate movement that shares common roots with the militants that took power in Afghanistan last year, have stepped up attacks in recent months.
The government held a series of talks with the militants late last year before an agreed truce collapsed.
The spring offensive will begin on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, starting on Sunday or Monday, and will target security forces and their collaborators, Mohammad Khorasani, spokesman for TTP militant group said in a statement.
"This operation will include martyrdom (suicide) operations, ambush attacks, mine operations, counter-attacks, target attacks, laser and sniper operations," he added.
The TTP are pressuring the government to allow militants to return to their hometowns with impunity after foreign fighters were told by the Afghan Taliban to leave Afghanistan.
A spring offensive is a rare move by the TTP.
It comes after the country's armed forces said militants attempted to storm a compound in the border region near Afghanistan, killing at least six Pakistani troops.
The attack was claimed by TTP, who said they had killed or wounded more than 30 soldiers.
The militants often exaggerate their gains, while the military's public relations department also plays down losses or delays reporting them.
The announcement came as Prime Minister Imran Khan was facing a no-confidence vote -- the biggest challenge to his power since becoming leader in 2018.
Pakistan's restive border region has long been a stronghold for groups such as the TTP, which operates across the porous boundary with Afghanistan.
The group plunged the country into a period of horrific violence after forming in 2007, before a major crackdown in 2014 forced them into hiding across the border.
But since the Taliban's takeover of Kabul, the local group has become emboldened and carried out dozens of such attacks on Pakistan's soil.
The TTP and Islamabad agreed to a truce in November.
But it failed on December 10, with the hardliners accusing the government of violating the terms of the truce.
Pakistani Taliban announce Ramadan offensive against security forces
https://arab.news/4cukm
Pakistani Taliban announce Ramadan offensive against security forces
- The government held a series of talks with the militants late last year before an agreed truce collapsed
- The TTP wants Pakistan to allow militants to return to their hometowns Afghan Taliban asked foreign fighters to leave
Senior Daesh spokesperson in Pakistan’s custody— state media
- Sultan Aziz Azzam, a senior member of Daesh regional affiliate ISKP, has been listed as “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” by Washington
- Azzam, who oversaw banned outfit’s media operations, was arrested in May while attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan, says state media
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have taken into custody Sultan Aziz Azzam, a senior member of Daesh who used to oversee the banned outfit’s media operations and headed its “Al Azzam” outlet, state media reported on Thursday.
The state-run Pakistan TV Digital reported that Azzam was a senior member of Daesh regional affiliate ISKP, who hails from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and is a graduate of the University of Nangarhar where he studied Islamic jurisprudence.
The state media said he joined ISKP in 2016 and later became a prominent member of its leadership council.
“He was arrested in May 2025 while attempting to cross from Afghanistan into Pakistan,” Pakistan TV Digital reported, citing intelligence sources.
In November 2021, Washington listed Azzam as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT). The move bars American citizens from engaging in transactions with persons designated as SDGTs.
According to a report on the UN Security Council’s website, Azzam has played an “instrumental role” in spreading Daesh’s violent ideology, glorifying and justifying “terrorist acts.”
“Building on his former experience as an Afghan journalist, his activity as ISIL-K’s spokesperson has increased ISIL-K’s visibility and influence among its followers,” the report states.
The report further states Azzam claimed responsibility on behalf of Daesh for the suicide attack near Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021, which killed at least 170 Afghans and 13 US service members and injured 150 more.
The development takes place amid tense relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad alleging militants use Afghan soil to carry out attacks against Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations.
Tensions surged in October when Pakistan and Afghanistan engaged in fierce border clashes, claiming to have killed dozens of soldiers of the other side.
Pakistan has urged the Afghan Taliban-led government to take “decisive action” against militants it says operate from its soil. Afghanistan says it cannot be held responsible for Pakistan’s security challenges.
