In an encounter with Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) rebels, four Pakistan Army personnel, including a Lieutenant, were killed on Saturday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), media wing of the Army, gave the names of the deceased Army personnel as Lieutenant Muhammad Hassaan Arshaf, Naib Subedar Muhammad Bilal, Sepoy Farhat Ullah and Sepoy Himat Khan. The officer who was killed in the encounter with TTP rebels, officially called khwarij j due to a fiat from the Federal government, hailed from Lahore.
The encounter had taken place in the general area of Miran Shah, North Waziristan District, notorious for such attacks on the Pakistani security forces. The ISPR said that six terrorists were neutralised by the security forces in this encounter. “However, during intense fire exchange, Lieutenant Muhammad Hassaan Arshaf, resident of Lahore leading his troops from the front, fought gallantly and embraced Shahadat along with his three men — Naib Subedar Muhammad Bilal, Sepoy Farhat Ullah and Sepoy Himat Khan.’’ The ISPR statement said. However, it did not give any details about injuries to other personnel as is the practice these days.
In most statements put out by the ISPR, details regarding the injuries among the security forces personnel are often not given. This is widely seen as an attempt at window dressing facts to suppress the real problems being faced by the security personnel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Sanitisation operations were being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists, the statement said. “Security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the ISPR concluded.
Security forces neutralised at least nine terrorists in another engagement in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. In all, 15 terrorists were killed in two separate incidents, the ISPR claimed.
The ISPR statement said that in the first instance, nine terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) which was conducted in the general area of Hathala, Dera Ismail Khan District, on the reported presence of terrorists. “During the conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij location and resultantly, nine khwarij including ring leaders Farman [aka] Saqib, Amanullah [aka] Toori, Saeed [aka] Liaqat and Bilal were sent to hell,” it added.
The killed terrorists were “actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area and were highly wanted by the law enforcement agencies”. In the second encounter in Miran Shah area, four Pakistan Army personnel and six TTP rebels were killed, according to the statement.
According to the data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), at least 74 militant attacks were recorded across Pakistan since January 1, 2025. These attacks have resulted in 91 fatalities, including that of 35 security personnel, 20 civilians, and 36 militants. Another 117 individuals sustained injuries, including 53 security forces personnel, 54 civilians, and 10 militants.
Of the 35 security forces personnel killed in encounters this year, 24 have died in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Thus, KP remained the worst-affected province, followed by Balochistan. In KP’s settled districts, militants carried out 27 attacks, resulting in 19 fatalities, including 11 security personnel, six civilians, and two militants.
In the tribal districts of KP (erstwhile FATA), there were 19 attacks, leading to 46 deaths, including 13 security personnel, eight civilians, and 25 militants.
