Pakistan will fight ‘menace of terrorism’ to the end, PM says as two soldiers killed in IED attack

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said on Wednesday the fight against “terrorism” would continue until the “menace” was eradicated from the country, as the army said two soldiers had been killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack on a security forces’ convoy in the northwest.
In a second attack, a bomb exploded at a shop in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP group, in the northwestern city of Wana, killing a pro-government elder, Aslam Noor, and two others civilians.
They claimed responsibility for the attack on the troops, but denied any role in the bombing that killed the three civilians. The TTP is a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban who in August 2021 seized Afghanistan as US and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.
The attack in which the soldier was killed took place in the Razmak area in North Waziristan district in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Resultantly, two soldiers; Lance Naik Ehsan Badshah (age: 33 years, resident of: District Karak) and Lance Naik Sajid Hussain (age: 30 years, resident of: District Kurram), embraced Shahadat,” the military said.
Islamabad says the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has emboldened the Pakistani Taliban who have stepped up attacks against police and troops across the country since last November when the group called off a tenuous truce with the government.
The Afghan Taliban deny they allow Afghan soil to be used by militants.
“We will continue the war against terrorism until this menace is eradicated from the country,” the PM said in a statement about the North Waziristan attack.
“The sacrifices of Pakistan Army and law enforcement agencies for the survival of the country are unforgettable. The entire nation including me is proud of our martyrs.”