The US has once again expressed concern over rising incidents of terrorism in Pakistan and acknowledged that the Pakistani people have suffered huge losses due to terrorism.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller clarified during a press briefing in Washington that consultations are underway to increase civilian and military capacity to take action against terrorists.
He said that he is committed to talking to the Pakistani leadership to stop terrorism and is continuing to partner with Pakistan in this regard.
Spokesperson Matthew Miller clarified that he is taking the matter of the conspiracy to kill Sikhs very seriously and an investigation is underway in this regard.
It should be noted that in recent days, the country has been facing an increase in the wave of terrorism and especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, anti-state elements are carrying out operations almost every day in which civilians including security forces are being martyred.
More than a dozen security personnel were martyred in two separate incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa yesterday. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) did not officially confirm the deaths, but official sources said that at least eight security personnel were martyred and three were injured in a fierce exchange of fire with terrorists in the Tirah Valley.
The AFP news agency reported on Tuesday that “nine militants” were also killed in the exchange of fire.
The clashes began when armed men attacked an army camp near the Bagh Maidan Markaz. The clashes continued for two days in the Tirah Valley, during which businesses remained closed, but shops opened after the tension subsided on Tuesday.
Local traders protested on Sunday evening, demanding compensation for their shops destroyed by mortar shells during the clashes.
In addition, several security personnel were martyred in a suicide attack near the Mali Khel check post in the Jani Khel area of Bannu district.
Sources said that 11 personnel were martyred in the attack, while the condition of 2 people is said to be critical.
Sources said that after the Mali Khel blast, armed militants attacked, resulting in an exchange of fire with security personnel, the martyred and injured were shifted to the hospital.
These attacks took place at a time when the apex committee meeting of the National Action Plan was being held in Islamabad, in which the security situation was reviewed.
It may be recalled that militant attacks in Bannu district have increased in recent days. On Tuesday, more than half a dozen police personnel who were kidnapped from a check post on the border with North Waziristan were safely recovered by the police with the help of tribal elders.
About a week ago, unknown miscreants attacked the under-construction building of a girls’ primary school in the Shah Najib Landidak Naikam Kali area.
Earlier, three security personnel, including an army major, were martyred in an exchange of fire in the Baka Khel area of the same district last month.
In recent protests, the peace jirga had called for serious efforts to restore peace in the area and launch action against armed groups, which locals claim are ruling the streets in the absence of law enforcement agencies.
