PESHAWAR: At least three Pakistani paramilitary troops were killed when unidentified militants attacked a security checkpoint in the northwestern Kurram district, a police official said on Sunday.
Kurram, a tribal district of around 600,000 that borders Afghanistan, has been the flashpoint for sectarian tensions between Shia and Sunni tribes, with clashes between both sides claiming more than 150 lives since Nov. last year.
In the latest incident, militants attacked a security checkpoint that killed three personnel of the Frontier Constabulary (FC) paramilitary force and injured four others, according to Kurram police spokesman Riaz Khan.
“Security forces were targeted by unidentified miscreants at around 5:15am within the limits of Chinarak police station in the Tukre Patti area of Central Kurram,” Khan told Arab News. “Further surveillance is ongoing.”
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Last month, five Pakistani troops and a truck driver were killed after insurgents attacked trucks carrying aid to the restive district that has been cut off from the rest of the country since Nov., according to Abbas Majid, a senior police official. Authorities blocked roads following clashes between heavily armed tribes, causing a shortage of food and medicines in the district.
Shiite Muslims dominate parts of Kurram, although they are a minority in the rest of Pakistan, which is majority Sunni. The warring tribes reached a peace agreement on Jan. 1, but sporadic violence has continued in Kurram and both sides have occasionally engaged in battles with machine guns and heavy weapons.
Authorities have been airlifting the injured and ailing from Kurram to the provincial capital of Peshawar, and airdropping essential supplies in the region via helicopters since Jan. this year.
Last year was the deadliest in a decade for Pakistan, home to 250 million people, with a surge in attacks that killed more than 1,600 people, according to the Center for Research and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based analysis group.
Militants kill three Pakistani paramilitary troops in restive northwestern district — police
https://arab.news/y7tas
Militants kill three Pakistani paramilitary troops in restive northwestern district — police
- Kurram has been the flashpoint for sectarian tensions, with clashes between Shia and Sunni tribes claiming over 150 lives since Nov.
- The attack follows an ambush on an aid convoy that killed five Pakistani troops and a truck driver in the restive district last month
Pakistan, Türkiye military chiefs discuss defense cooperation amid Middle East tensions
- Field Marshal Asim Munir reaffirms Pakistan’s commitment to deepening military-to-military ties with Türkiye
- Turkish officials said this month they were in talks to join the Pakistan-Saudi defense alliance formed last year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top military commander, Field Marshal Asim Munir, met the Chief of the Turkish General Staff, General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, on Friday to discuss deepening defense cooperation, as regional security concerns intensify amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of widening geopolitical uncertainty following the Gaza war, which has heightened the risk of broader regional escalation involving Iran and the United States, and as Ankara explores closer defense coordination with partners beyond NATO.
Earlier this month, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Türkiye was in talks to join a defense alliance established between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia last September, signaling a possible expansion of security cooperation among key regional players.
The Turkish general called on Pakistan’s chief of defense forces at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, according to the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
“During the meeting, besides dilating upon matters of mutual interest, prevailing regional and global security landscape, and prospects for strengthening bilateral defense and military cooperation were also discussed,” the ISPR said in a statement.
It added that both sides “expressed satisfaction on current trajectory of Pakistan-Türkiye relations while underscoring the requirement of maintaining close coordination and enhancing defense collaboration.”
Munir welcomed the support of the Turkish Armed Forces and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening military-to-military ties, according to the statement.
It said that Bayraktaroglu praised the professionalism of Pakistan’s armed forces and expressed Türkiye’s intent to deepen defense cooperation through training, joint exercises and capacity-building initiatives.
Pakistan and Türkiye maintain close diplomatic, economic and defense relations, with military cooperation forming a major pillar of their partnership.
Last month, a high-level delegation of Turkish aerospace and defense manufacturers visited Pakistan to explore joint ventures, co-production and technology-sharing opportunities. In August 2025, the navies of both countries conducted their first bilateral amphibious exercise to strengthen maritime coordination.
Turkish defense firms have played a key role in modernizing Pakistan’s Agosta 90B-class submarines and have supplied Islamabad with advanced military hardware, including drones.
The two countries also regularly conduct joint military drills. Their most recent exercise, Ataturk-XIII in February 2025, brought together special forces units for combat training aimed at improving their ability to operate effectively together in the field.
