KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – At least 10 Pakistani security personnel were killed when their outpost was attacked by militant groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which shares a border with Afghanistan.
As reported by Pakistani media, The Express Tribune, the attack occurred at the Zam check post in Dara Ismail Khan on Thursday, October 24.
The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group that Pakistani officials claim is based in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in retaliation for the killing of its senior leader, Ustad Qureshi, who was earlier killed by Pakistani forces.
Pakistani officials, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, condemned the attack, saying that their sacrifice further strengthens the country’s unwavering commitment to combating terrorism.
Pakistan has been grappling with a surge in terrorist attacks following the collapse of the previous Afghan government and the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.
The TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, shares a similar ideology with the Afghan Taliban, and other militant groups have intensified their violence against the country’s security forces. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which share a border with Afghanistan, have become the primary centers of violence, accounting for nearly 94% of all fatalities and 89% of attacks, including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations.
Islamabad claims that the TTP uses Afghanistan as a base and believes the ruling regime in the country has been sheltering and equipping the group to launch cross-border attacks.
Last month, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Munir Akram, warned the Security Council that the TTP could soon become the “spearhead of global terrorist goals,” aligning itself with groups such as al-Qaeda.
“And, given its long association with Al-Qaeda, it will not be long before the TTP becomes the spearhead for Al-Qaeda’s planned regional and global terrorist goals,” Ambassador Akram warned.
The ruling regime in Afghanistan, however, denies allegations that the TTP or any other terrorist groups are present in the country, a claim disputed by UN security assessments and regional countries.
In a joint declaration following the BRICS summit held this week in Russia, the participants, including China and India, called for more visible and verifiable measures in Afghanistan to ensure that the territory is not used by terrorist groups.
