10 FC personnel martyred in terrorist attack on DI Khan check post

• Three FC personnel wounded in gun battle with terrorists: spox.
• Among martyrs, 6 soldiers hail from South Wazristan, 4 from Karak.
• President, PM, interior minister strongly condemn terrorist attack.
  

Ten Frontier Constabulary (FC) soldiers were martyred in a fierce attack carried out by terrorists on a check post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Dera Ismail Khan district, an interior ministry’s spokesperson said on Friday.

The spokesperson detailed that the terrorists equipped with heavy weaponry targeted Zam FC check post in DI Khan's Darazinda area under cover of darkness late Thursday night.

In response to the assault, the FC personnel courageously fought back and repulsed the terrorist attack.

However, ten soldiers sacrificed their lives to protect the check post. The martyred soldiers include six from South Waziristan and four from Karak district.

The martyrs have been identified as Naib Subedar Muhammad Jan, Naik Arif, Lance Naik Saeed-ur-Rehman, Sepoy Akhunzada, and Sepoy Hazratullah. Sepoys Mushtaq, Abdul Samad, Imran, Basir, and Mehtab.

Three FC personnel were also wounded during the exchange of fire with the attackers.

The injured soldiers, identified as Naik Hamza, Sepoy Hasan, and Sepoy Sabir Ayub, were swiftly transferred to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dera Ismail Khan.

Their condition is currently stable, and they are receiving the necessary care, state-run APP reported.

Paying tribute to the martyred soldiers, the spokesperson emphasised that the FC remained unwavering in its resolve to combat terrorism and secure peace for Pakistan.

“We pay tribute to the martyrs of the FC,” the spokesperson stated, noting that these great sacrifices only serve to strengthen the forces’ determination to eradicate terrorism.

The Frontier Constabulary remains committed to eliminating the scourge of terrorism and ensuring peace,” the spokesperson added.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the terrorist attack and paid tribute to the FC soldiers who embraced martyrdom.

Lauding the patriotism of the martyred soldiers, President Zardari conveyed his condolence to the bereaved families.

He prayed to the Allah Almighty for the elevation of the martyrs’ ranks in paradise and for strength for their families to bear the loss, according to a President House press release.

PM Shehbaz said: “The entire nation salutes its martyrs. We are resolved to root out the terrorism from the country.”

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the attacks carried out on FC troops in DI Khan, SHO Jani Khel Police Station’s vehicle in Bannu, and a separate firing incident targeting a sub-inspector in Kohat.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks since the Taliban government returned to power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021, mostly in the northwestern border province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but also in southwestern Balochistan, which abuts Afghanistan and Iran.

Islamabad accuses Kabul's interim rulers of failing to root out militants sheltering on Afghan soil as they prepare to stage assaults on Pakistan.

Against this backdrop, the federal cabinet in June this year approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, a reinvigorated national counter-terrorism campaign following the Central Apex Committee's recommendations under the National Action Plan to root out terrorism.