Army captain martyred in exchange of fire with terrorists in KP’s North Waziristan: ISPR – Pakistan

A Pakistan Army captain was martyred in an exchange of fire with terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district on Tuesday, according to the military’s media wing.

A statement from the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that Captain Muhammad Osama bin Arshad, 24, resident of Rawalpindi district, was martyred during a fire exchange between security forces and terrorists in the district.

“During the fierce engagement, own troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, as result of which two terrorists were sent to hell.”

The ISPR added that he led his troops from the front and “having fought gallantly, made the ultimate sacrifice and embraced martyrdom”.

The ISPR said a sanitisation operation wass being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area.

“Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve.”

The banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group claimed responsibility for the incident.

Paying tribute to the martyr, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the war against terrorism would continue until the menace was rooted out.

“The nation salutes the soldiers who stand like an iron wall against terrorists,” he said.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the nation would forever remember the martyr’s sacrifice and extended his condolences to the captain’s family.

Nine terrorists were killed by the security forces in two separate operations in Khyber and Lakki Marwat districts last week.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan after the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.

According to an annual security report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Pakistan witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations in 2023 — marking a record six-year high.

KP and Balochistan were the primary centres of violence, accounting for over 90 per cent of all fatalities and 84pc of attacks, including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations.

Additional reporting by Tahir Khan.