DERA ISMAIL KHAN / BAJAUR: Three security personnel were martyred and five militants were killed in an exc­h­ange of fire along the Pak-Afghan border in Bajaur district on Sunday night while a Frontier Corps man was martyred in a clash with Afghan forces at the Gaznali border check post near the Noshki area of Balochistan.

A statement issued by Inter-Services Public Rel­a­tions (ISPR), the media wing of Pakistan military, said that the security for­ces engaged a group of militants who was trying to infiltrate Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the Bajaur area.

The troops effectively engaged and thwarted the militants’ attempt to infiltrate and an exch­ange of fire took place, the statement said.

The statement further said that five militants were killed in the clash on the Pak-Afghan border while four others were injured.

“However, during intense exchange of fire, three brave sons of soil: 36-year-old Naik Inayat Khan from district Khyber), 35-year-old Lance Naik Umer Hayat from district Mansehra) and 25-year-old Sepoy Waqar Khan from district Peshawar, having fought gallantly, embraced Shahadat,” the statement said.

It further said that Pakistan has consistently been asking the interim Afghan government to ensure effective border management on its side of the border, adding that the interim Afghan government is expected to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of the Afghan soil by the militants for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan.

The statement said that Pakistani security forces are committed to securing its borders and such sacrifices of the brave soldiers further strengthen the security forces’ resolve. In another incident in Dera Ismail Khan, sources said that the security forces killed four militants in an operation carried out in Krri Malang area of Tehsil Kulachi on Monday.

The sources said that the operation was carried out on reported presence of militants in the area, adding that an exchange of fire took place between security forces and militants which left four militants killed.

They said that two of them were later identified as Irfan and Zeeshan.

Security forces also recovered a huge quantity of sophisticated weapons and hand grenades from possession of the militants who were killed in the operation, the sources said, adding that the militants killed by security forces were wanted in several cases including attacks on security personnel and bank vans.

No official statement was issued by ISPR on the exchange of fire in Dera Ismail Khan till filing of this report late in the night.

FC personnel martyred

A security personnel of Frontier Corps was martyred in an armed clash with Afghan forces in Noshki area of Balochistan, Pakistani officials confirmed on Monday.

According to reports the armed clash took place between two sides on Sunday in Gaznali area, a locality on the Pak-Afghan border, some 200 km from Quetta.

“The Frontier Corps personnel and Afghan forces exchanged heavy fire at the border in Noshki area,” Noshki deputy commissioner Amjad Hussian Soomro said, adding that one personnel of Noshki militia, a wing of Frontier Corps, was martyred in the exchange of fire. However, he did not tell the reason for the clash.

However, a senior FC official requesting anonymity, said that Afghan forces opened fire on the FC personnel when they went to Gaznali check post after receiving reports about the damage of to the fence erected by Pakistan to check infiltration of militants and illegal Afghans into Pakistan from Afghanistan.

The Afghan forces opened fire on seeing the FC troops. The FC personnel returned fire, triggering a heavy exchange of fire which continued for an hour. The exchange of fire resulted in martyrdom of a Pakistani security personnel who was identified as Subedar Tariq who suffered bullets on his stomach.

There was no report of casualties on the Afghanistan side of the border.

Saleem Shahid also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2024