ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani army captain and ten militants were killed in a gunfight in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Friday, in the latest incident of militant violence in the region.
The gunfight took place during an intelligence-based operation in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
The slain officer was identified as Captain Husnain Akhtar, while the dead militants were described as “Khwarij,” a phrase authorities use for the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
“During the operation, weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed khwarij, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the Law Enforcement Agencies as well as target killing of innocent civilians,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“Sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Kharji found in the area, as the security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country and such sacrifices of our brave young officers further strengthen our resolve.”
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP since a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban and Islamabad broke down in November 2022. The TTP and other militant groups have frequently targeted security forces convoys and check-posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.
Earlier this month, a paramilitary troop and 12 militants were killed in a gunbattle in KP’s Tank district after the militants carried out a suicide attack at the Frontier Constabulary (FC) headquarters, a police official with direct knowledge of the development said.
Pakistan says the takeover of Kabul by the Afghan Taliban in 2021 has emboldened the TTP as it is able to operate out of and launch attacks from safe havens in neighboring Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegation.
Army captain, ten militants killed in gunfight in Pakistan’s restive northwest
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Army captain, ten militants killed in gunfight in Pakistan’s restive northwest
- The gunfight took place during an intelligence-based operation in the Dera Ismail Khan district in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
- Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP since a fragile truce between Pakistani Taliban, Islamabad broke down in 2022
Sindh assembly passes resolution rejecting move to separate Karachi
- Chief Minister Shah cites constitutional safeguards against altering provincial boundaries
- Calls to separate Karachi intensified amid governance concerns after a mall fire last month
ISLAMABAD: The provincial assembly of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Saturday passed a resolution rejecting any move to separate Karachi, declaring its territorial integrity “non-negotiable” amid political calls to carve the city out as a separate administrative unit.
The resolution comes after fresh demands by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and other voices to grant Karachi provincial or federal status following governance challenges highlighted by the deadly Gul Plaza fire earlier this year that killed 80 people.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest and most densely populated city, is the country’s main commercial hub and contributes a significant share to the national economy.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah tabled the resolution in the assembly, condemning what he described as “divisive statements” about breaking up Sindh or detaching Karachi.
“The province that played a foundational role in the creation of Pakistan cannot allow the fragmentation of its own historic homeland,” Shah told lawmakers, adding that any attempt to divide Sindh or separate Karachi was contrary to the constitution and democratic norms.
Citing Article 239 of Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution, which requires the consent of not less than two-thirds of a provincial assembly to alter provincial boundaries, Shah said any such move could not proceed without the assembly’s approval.
“If any such move is attempted, it is this Assembly — by a two-thirds majority — that will decide,” he said.
The resolution reaffirmed that Karachi would “forever remain” an integral part of Sindh and directed the provincial government to forward the motion to the president, prime minister and parliamentary leadership for record.
Shah said the resolution was not aimed at anyone but referred to the shifting stance of MQM in the debate while warning that opposing the resolution would amount to supporting the division of Sindh.
The party has been a major political force in Karachi with a significant vote bank in the city and has frequently criticized Shah’s provincial administration over its governance of Pakistan’s largest metropolis.
Taha Ahmed Khan, a senior MQM leader, acknowledged that his party had “presented its demand openly on television channels with clear and logical arguments” to separate Karachi from Sindh.
“It is a purely constitutional debate,” he told Arab News by phone. “We are aware that the Pakistan Peoples Party, which rules the province, holds a two-thirds majority and that a new province cannot be created at this stage. But that does not mean new provinces can never be formed.”
Calls to alter Karachi’s status have periodically surfaced amid longstanding complaints over governance, infrastructure and administrative control in the megacity, though no formal proposal to redraw provincial boundaries has been introduced at the federal level.
