ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s security forces this week killed a “high-profile terrorist” in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province who was involved in attacks on security forces and civilians, the army’s media wing said.
Security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in the country’s restive Bajaur tribal district on Wednesday after receiving reports of the militant’s presence in the area, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
The army said Commander Irfan Ullah Adnan was killed after a heavy exchange of fire between security forces and militants in Bajaur.
“He was actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against security forces as well as extortion & target killings of innocent civilians, and was highly wanted by the law enforcement agencies,” the ISPR said.
BLAST KILLS EX-SENATOR
The ISPR’s press release was issued hours after a blast in Bajaur killed five people, among them a former senator who was taking part in a campaign for an upcoming by-election in the district.
Hidayat Ullah Khan and four others were killed when his vehicle was targeted in a blast in Bajaur. Khan, who was an independent senator from 2018 to 2024, was the son of former National Assembly lawmaker Hajji Bismillah Khan and the younger brother of ex-KP governor Shaukat Ullah Khan.
People carry the coffin of former senator Hidayatullah Khan to an ambulance after he was killed in a bomb explosion at Bajaur district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on July 3, 2024. (AFP)
Pakistan’s tribal areas bordering Afghanistan have seen a surge in militant attacks since Nov. 2022 when a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke down.
Pakistan blames the TTP for the surge in violence, accusing it of targeting Pakistani security forces, politicians and civilians from Afghanistan in a bid to enforce its strict version of Islamic law in the country.
The TTP, however, did not take responsibility for the blast. In a statement released to the media, the banned outfit accused the Pakistan Army of killing the former senator to malign it.
“We would like to reiterate once again that we consider only the security forces and their personnel our targets,” the TTP said.
