ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari this week backed the country’s security forces in their battle against militants, state-run media reported, after a recent attack in northwestern Pakistan left three soldiers and four militants dead.
Pakistan’s security forces lost three soldiers in clashes with militants at three different places in Tirah Valley, located in the northwestern Khyber district on Friday, the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR, said. It added that the attack also left four militants dead.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant activities since the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, unilaterally called off a fragile ceasefire with the government in November 2022.
Much of TTP’s militant activity has been confined to the country’s western provinces, prompting security officials to launch intelligence-based operations against its fighters who are reportedly armed with sophisticated military equipment, including night vision devices.
“President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday condemned an attack on security forces in Tirah Valley of District Khyber and expressed his condolences on shahadat [martyrdom] of security forces personnel,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
The APP said Zardari lauded security forces personnel for their sacrifices and for sending “terrorists to hell.”
“The entire nation is standing with its security forces to root out the scourge of terrorism,” Zardari was quoted as saying by the state-run media.
In a separate statement published by the APP, PM Sharif praised Pakistan’s security forces for battling militants. He vowed that the country would not let up in its war against militants until the last “terrorist” was eliminated.
“He said war against terrorism would continue till its complete eradication from the country,” the APP reported.
“The officers and jawans of armed forces of Pakistan always gave preference to performance of duty over their lives.”
