The Pakistan's tribal district of North Waziristan located on the Pak-Afghan border has been targeted by the heinous acts of terrorists, for the elimination of which the Pakistan Army is actively working day and night and has eliminated many of their ambush sites.

However, in terms of land, it is a densely populated area where many terrorists are still hiding and waiting for attacks on the Pakistan Army soldiers who are engaged in the clean-up operation against them.

On Saturday, the security forces foiled the infiltration attempt of the terrorists.

The terrorists rammed a vehicle full of explosives into the checkpoint, which was followed by several suicide attacks that resulted in the collapse of a part of the building and the martyrdom  of Lt. Col. Syed Kashif Ali and seven other Pak soldiers, including Captain Muhammad Ahmed Badr, were martyred while fighting bravely.

Other martyred soldiers include Havaldar Sabir, Naik Khurshid, Sepahi Nasir, Raja and Sajjad. A clean-up operation is being carried out to eliminate the terrorists hiding in the area, which will continue until the area is freed from terrorists. The security forces are determined to defend every inch of the country and the sacrifices of the brave officers and security men make this spirit of Pakistan Army even stronger.

The entire nation is with them. Thanks to Operation Zarb-e-Azb and Radd ul-Fasaad, the interior areas of the country are largely safe today, but it is inevitable to pursue the anti-human elements and reach their hide-out, for which the cooperation of the Afghan government is also necessary. Interim Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in a message to his Pakistani counterpart, has expressed his determination to work together for the development of both countries, starting with joint action against terrorists.

It may be mentioned here that the biggest challange for the new government is the scourge of terrorim. The incidents of terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan require that all necessary measures be taken to root out terrorism, including contacting the Transitional Government of Afghanistan and mobilizing relevant forums of regional countries.

Incidents of terrorism, especially in the tribal areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, are not only increasing, but also educational institutions and public transport are not safe from them.

While the real situation is that the Afghanistan-based leadership of the outlawed TTP is operating terrorism in Pakistan and its infiltrators are using every tactic to harm the beloved country. Pakistan is the country that has stood by Afghan brothers in all difficult times and also played an effective role in the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan.

It would be good if the responsible people of both the countries sit together and find an effective way of improvement. For the development and prosperity of both countries and peace and stability in the region, such contacts should be made immediately. It may be mentioned here that in the recent past, TTP has made a lot of progress. The continued use of Afghanistan's territory in terrorist incidents is extremely worrying.

The Afghan government should not just pay lip service but take practical steps to prevent these incidents from its soil.

India is taking advantage of  the tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan over the Taliban issue and are making moves to create security situation in Pakistan.

On the one hand, the Indian RAW is busy in sabotage and terrorist acitivities in Balochistan and other parts of our country while on the other, the Afghan Taliban are carrying terrorists acts in Pakistan from the Afghan soil.

The situation in Balochistan has deteriorated a lot. Without controlling terrorism, the country cannot be taken towards real stability. If internal stability cannot be ensured in Pakistan, the country will remain weak in the field of foreign affairs as well.

Rapid changes are taking place in the global and regional situation and Pakistan is under the impact of these changes.

It may be recalled here that the statistics revealed at the end of 2023 indicate that during the year, Pakistani security forces killed 566 terrorists in a total of 18,736 operations and arrested 5,161. Among them, 109 terrorists were killed in 15,063 incidents in Balochistan, while 447 were in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

During the year, 190 terrorists were killed, 14 in Gilgit-Baltistan, while 10 were killed in Sindh.

These actions of the security agencies are saddened by the situation that the outlawed TTP and its followers want to impose in Pakistan and the region. They will not get anything except heavy loss of life and money and disgrace, however, Pakistan is continuously convincing the Afghan Taliban government to ensure effective border management from its side. The claims have been proven. They should keep their promises not to use their soil against Pakistan while realizing the centuries-old bilateral brotherly relations between the two countries.

In 2017, Pakistan spent 50 million dollars to put up a security fence on the border to prevent smuggling and terrorism, but the Afghan government tried to make it controversial.

After the withdrawal of the American army in 2021, the Taliban government was re-established in Kabul, Afghanistan became a safe haven for the outlawed TTP and their terrorist attacks on Pakistan accelerated.

The authorities refused to allow anyone from both sides to cross the Pak-Afghan border without a passport or visa, which no one has the right to object to, but the situation has arisen due to anti-Pakistan elements active in Balochistan.

Published in The Daily National Courier, March, 19 2024

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