ISLAMABAD: Three militants were killed in a shootout with Pakistani security forces during an operation in the country’s restive northwest, the Pakistani military said on Sunday.
The shootout took place while the security forces were conducting an intelligence-based operation in Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
“The killed terrorists remained actively involved in various terrorist activities against security forces, police and innocent civilians,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“They were also highly wanted for conducting a raid on a Police CP (checkpost) in Kulachi on 11 April 2022, which resulted in Shahadat (martyrdom) of five brave police constables.”
Officials also recovered weapons and ammunition from the scene, the military said.
“Sanitization of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area,” it added.
The development came hours after three police officers, a paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) soldier, and a militant were killed, when militants attacked a checkpost in southwest Pakistan.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but Pakistan has been witnessing an uptick in militant violence since the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), called off a fragile truce with the government in Islamabad in November.
The Pakistani Taliban are a separate entity but are allied with the Afghanistan Taliban, who took over Afghanistan in August 2021 after the withdrawal of US and NATO forces from the country. The takeover appears to have emboldened the TTP.
Militant attacks have since targeted police and security forces in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces that border Afghanistan.
In Balochistan, some of the attacks have also been claimed by Baloch separatist militants, who Pakistan says have been armed by the neighboring India. New Delhi denies the allegation.
Three militants killed in shootout in Pakistan’s restive northwest — military
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Three militants killed in shootout in Pakistan’s restive northwest — military
- The shootout took place while security forces were conducting an intelligence-based operation in Dera Ismail Khan district
- The development came hours after four security personnel and a militant were killed in an attack in the country’s southwest
US freezes visa processing for 75 countries, media reports Pakistan included
- State Department announces indefinite pause on immigrant visas starting Jan 21
- Move underscores Trump’s hard-line immigration push despite close Pakistan-US ties
ISLAMABAD: The United States will pause immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries starting Jan. 21, the State Department said on Wednesday, with Fox News and other media outlets reporting that Pakistan is among the countries affected by the indefinite suspension.
The move comes as the Trump administration presses ahead with a broad immigration crackdown, with Pakistan included among the affected countries despite strong ongoing diplomatic engagement between Islamabad and Washington on economic cooperation, regional diplomacy and security matters.
Fox News, citing an internal State Department memo, said US embassies had been instructed to refuse immigrant visas under existing law while Washington reassesses screening and vetting procedures. The report said the pause would apply indefinitely and covers countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the Department of State said in a post on X.
According to Fox News and Pakistan news outlets like Dawn, the list of affected countries includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, Somalia, Brazil and Thailand, among others.
“The suspension could delay travel, study, and work plans for thousands of Pakistanis who annually seek US visas. Pakistani consulates in the US are expected to provide guidance to affected applicants in the coming days,” Dawn reported.
A State Department spokesman declined comment when Arab News reached out via email to confirm if Pakistan was on the list.
The Department has not publicly released the full list of countries or clarified which visa categories would be affected, nor has it provided a timeline for when processing could resume.
Trump has made immigration enforcement a central pillar of his agenda since returning to office last year, reviving and expanding the use of the “public charge” provision of US immigration law to restrict entry by migrants deemed likely to rely on public benefits.
During his previous term as president, Trump imposed sweeping travel restrictions on several Muslim-majority countries, a policy widely referred to as a “Muslim ban,” which was challenged in US courts before a revised version was upheld by the Supreme Court. That policy was later rescinded under the President Joe Biden administration.
The latest visa freeze marks a renewed hardening of US immigration policy, raising uncertainty for migrants from affected countries as Washington reassesses its screening and vetting procedures.
The freeze on visas comes amid an intensifying crackdown on immigration enforcement by the Trump administration. In Minneapolis last week, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good, a US citizen, during a federal operation, an incident that has drawn nationwide protests and scrutiny of ICE tactics. Family members and local officials have challenged the federal account of the shooting, even as Department of Homeland Security officials defended the agent’s actions. The case has prompted resignations by federal prosecutors and heightened debate over the conduct of immigration enforcement under the current administration.
