Tag: TTP

  • Gen Bajwa wanted to ‘resettle’ members of TTP in the country, claims Shireen Mazari

    Gen Bajwa wanted to ‘resettle’ members of TTP in the country, claims Shireen Mazari

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shireen Mazari has claimed that former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa wanted to “resettle” members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the country, after Afghan Taliban’s take over of Kabul in August 2021.

    “Bajwa at one point brought up the matter (of Taliban) — General Faiz Hameed was also present at the time — that there are Pakistani nationality families in the TTP who want to return to the country,” said Mazari, while speaking on Dawn News programme ‘Doosra Rukh’, which will air at 7pm tonight.

    “If they accept the Constitution and lay down their arms, something should be done for some sort of resettlement and talks should be held,” narrated Mazari adding that it was clearly decided that before initiating a dialogue, a committee will be formed between the elected representatives and the military to “form a consensus as our elected people have a lot of reservations.”

    The former minister asserted that the blame for failing to deal with the TTP would “fall not on us but the imported government”.

    The PTI leader insisted that Gen Faiz had made a visit “in the beginning to talk to the Afghan government” and not the Taliban.

    On Friday, TTP attacked the Karachi police chief’s office, martyring three persons including security personnel while 18 people sustained injuries. Five terrorists were also killed in the attack.

  • President, PM condemn Karachi police chief office attack

    President, PM condemn Karachi police chief office attack

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi have condemned Friday’s terrorist attack on the office of the police chief in Karachi.

    The building came under attack around 7:10pm, triggering an operation initiated by law enforcement agencies immediately after, with cops and soldiers of the Pakistan Army and Rangers taking on the terrorists together.

    Three persons, including security personnel, were martyred, while 18 people sustained injuries. Five terrorists were also killed in the attack.

    As the operation to clear the attackers out from the building has finally concluded, people from across the country, including officials and celebrities, have come together to condemn the attack.

    President Dr Arif Alvi sent out a message of support through the President House Twitter account, stating: “The entire nation stands with its security forces against terrorists. Efforts will continue to eradicate the menace of terrorism.”

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemning the attack, tweeted, ” I strongly condemn the terrorist attack on the police in Karachi and salute the brave police and law enforcement personnel who foiled the attack. Terrorists may have forgotten that Pakistan is the nation which defeated terrorism with its bravery and courage.”

    Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari took to Twitter and tweeted, “Sindh police have bravely faced and crushed terrorism before. We have full faith they will do so again, such cowardly attacks will not deter us.”

    Security forces cleared a five-storey police compound on the port city’s main thoroughfare in an hours-long operation during which three militants of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed while two policemen, one Rangers official and a citizen embraced martyrdom.

    At least 19 men, mostly police and Rangers officials, sustained injuries in the exchange of fire with militants who stormed the heavily guarded Karachi Police Office after lobbing a hand grenade at its main entrance, police and hospital officials said.

    The outlawed TTP has claimed responsibility for the latest ambush.

  • US sees TTP as a threat to Pakistan

    US sees TTP as a threat to Pakistan

    Counselor of the United States (US) State Department, Derek Chollet, has said that his country sees the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as a threat to Pakistan.

    While talking to ARY, Chollet said, “We have seen [TTP] in a terrible way a threat to Pakistan. The US considers any terrorist act as unexpectable.”

    The Counselor will pay an important visit to Pakistan during the ongoing week to explore possibilities of coordinating efforts to combat terrorism.

    He was also of the view that there is a great opportunity to further improve the relationship between Washington and Islamabad.

    The US diplomat said that Pakistan and US are working together to deal with the threats of terrorism.

    Since government talks with the TTP broke down in November, the militant group has intensified its attacks across Pakistan including attacks on the police.

    According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), January 2023 remained one of the deadliest months since July 2018.

    Most recently, more than 100 people lost their lives during a suicide attack at a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines. The TTP initially claimed responsibility for the attack, however, it later backtracked and claimed that they did not perpetrate the bombing.

  • Security forces kill 12 TTP terrorists during intelligence-based operation in KP

    Security forces kill 12 TTP terrorists during intelligence-based operation in KP

    The military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), has confirmed that security forces have killed 12 terrorists of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) during an intelligence-based operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Lakki Marwat area.

    “Terrorists were lured in by providing a vehicle for escape that was intercepted and neutralised,” said the ISPR, adding that weapons, ammunition and Afghan currency were also recovered from the terrorists.

    “Locals appreciated the operation and lauded the efforts of Pakistan Army in eliminating terrorism,” the statement concluded.

    Later, a clearance operation was carried out in the area.

    The country is facing rising insurgency, especially in Balochistan and KP, after the outlawed TTP ended its ceasefire with Islamabad in November.

  • ‘Was a freshman at Oxford’, Bilawal gets candid about his whereabouts when his mother was assassinated

    ‘Was a freshman at Oxford’, Bilawal gets candid about his whereabouts when his mother was assassinated

    Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari recently got candid while talking about his mother’s legacy, assassination, and his foray into politics.

    In a wide-ranging interview on Thursday with The Washington Post’s Lally Weymouth, Bilawal, who is currently representing Pakistan at World Economic Forum in Davis, agreed that if his mother Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had lived Pakistan would have been a different place.

    “I think that not only would Pakistan be a different place, but our region would have gone in a different direction. She had a vision and clarity that no one had at the time,” he said of his mother, the first female Muslim Prime Minister in the world.

    Responding to a question about where he was when his mother was assassinated in 2007 in Karachi, he said, “I was a freshman at Oxford”. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in an attack in Rawalpindi in 2007, right before she was to lead her party to the polls.

    Speaking about his early stages in politics, Bilawal—who is also chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)— said that his party thought that it was important for him to take a “ceremonial role leading the party to keep them united”.

    When asked whether he could become prime minister this year, FM Bilawal said he would have to win an election first.

    “Obviously, my party will be hoping that we win,” he said, hinting towards a coalition government if his party wins the most seats in the general elections scheduled for later this year.

    During the interview, the young minister reiterated that Pakistan’s new leadership, both political and military, will hold no talks with terrorist organisations who don’t respect the country’s laws and constitution.

    He said that former PM Imran Khan gave the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) a place to hide; not only did he release prisoners who were in Pakistan’s custody, but also engaged in a dialogue with them. “He [Imran Khan] has always been ideologically sympathetic to their point of view,” he added.

  • Bilawal blames PTI policies for TTP attacks

    Bilawal blames PTI policies for TTP attacks

    Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari— who is currently in Davos for the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting— has spoken to Al Jazeera about the recently held conference in Geneva for Pakistan’s devasting flood losses, a looming economic crisis and the soaring threats of terrorism.

    In his interview, the 34-year-old minister blamed the previous government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for its wrong approach and “policy of appeasement” towards the Taliban.

    He said, “I believe that the previous government had the wrong approach. Its policy of appeasement towards the Taliban has created problems for the people of Pakistan”, adding that this approach has been ended by the incumbent government.

    He said that recently the government also had a national security meeting and it was decided then that Pakistan would adopt a zero-tolerance policy against terrorist groups.

    Talking about the oppressive Taliban reign in Afghanistan, Bilawal urged the world to continue engaging with Afghanistan as it is the only solution. He said, “We [Pakistan] are neighbours, we couldn’t separate if we wanted to. The only way to enhance leverage on both sides is to continue to engage with them.”

    “I do not think turning our back and disengaging is an option. And it’s certainly not an option for Pakistan which shares such a long and porous border with Afghanistan”, he said, highlighting that both “Pakistanis and Afghanis are victims of terrorism”.

    About the economic and food crisis back home, the minister pointed out that Pakistan is not alone in facing the economic crisis as the world is also suffering and these all are the result of post-covid and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    However, he hoped that the situation will get better in the coming days. `

    Terming the Geneva conference “resilient”, he thanked the international community for pledging more than $9 billion for Pakistan’s flood rehabilitation and climate resilience building.

  • TTP member attacks Govt contractor’s house after refusal to pay 15 million ransom

    TTP member attacks Govt contractor’s house after refusal to pay 15 million ransom

    A government contractor in Rawalpindi refused to pay the demanded ransom of Rs 15 million to a member of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Mohammad Asghar reports for Dawn. The terrorist then allegedly assaulted his home with a cracker at Dhoke Lakhan in the Dhamial neighbourhood.


    Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) joined the police in their investigation of the incident after a first information report (FIR) was filed with them on Tuesday.
    Mohammad Nisar, a government contractor and inhabitant of Dhoke Lakhan Chakri Road, filed a police report claiming that on October 7, 2022, he received a voicemail identifying the caller as a TTP official and demanding a ransom of Rs15 million.


    Nisar had been working as a government contractor for the last 20 years.


    He claimed that after the man failed to respond to his message, he resorted to his brother Mushtaq Ali’s cellphone and left him a voicemail asking him to show it to his brother.


    He continued by saying that on December 28, 2022, at 4am, he heard an explosion outside his house while sleeping inside, while his wife and kids had left for their village.


    He said in the FIR that he went to his house’s rooftop to investigate the incident but was unable to see anything because of the darkness. He went back to sleep. The suspect was heard telling his brother that he had given him a glimpse the previous night in a second voice message that was left for him the next day.
    After that, he proceeded to his home’s rooftop where he discovered cracker fragments that had exploded on the compound wall of the roof.

  • TTP directly threatens PM Shehbaz and FM Bilawal

    The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) has announced that it is considering taking concrete steps against the two major parties of the current ruling coalition— the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

    In a notification, released on Wednesday, TTP claimed that the whole world is aware that the “Jihadi field of TTP is only Pakistan and their target is the security agencies occupying the country.”

    The banned organisation has also mentioned the names of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif as both of them have talked against TTP and warned the terrorists.

    The notification further reads that it has not taken action against any political party for a long time but “unfortunately Bilawal gave the United States (US) the status of mother to quench the thirst of his mother’s love”, adding that by doing so “he openly declared war against TTP”.

    “Although Bilawal is still young, this poor man has not yet witnessed the state of war,” the statement added.

    The TTP further said that Sharif has also “pushed the whole party into this war going against TTP for the sake of pleasing the US”.

    A statement issued by the TTP said that “if these two parties remain firm on their position and continue to be slaves of the army, then action will be taken against their leading people.”

    The statement by TTP comes just a day after FM Bilawal’s comment that the incumbent government would quit “the policy of appeasement” of terrorists, unlike the previous government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    Moreover, PM Shehbaz earlier this week had chaired a National Security Committee (NSC) meeting in which it was decided that Pakistan would adopt a zero tolerance policy against terrorism.

    In November, the TTP announced that they have called off a ceasefire with the federal government and since then they have been attacking across the country.

  • Lashkar-e-Khorasan claims responsibility for killing two intelligence officers

    Lashkar-e-Khorasan claims responsibility for killing two intelligence officers

    Lashkar-e-Khorasan, a relatively unknown terrorist group allied with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has claimed responsibility for killing two intelligence officers who were martyred on Tuesday in Khanewal, journalists have reported.


    The two officers, who were part of the counter-terrorism department of the intelligence service, were known for arresting members of the TTP and other militant organisations. They also had a formidable reputation for solving complicated terrorism cases including bombings.

    Both officers were shot as they were parking their vehicle outside a roadside restaurant in Pirowal where they reportedly planned to have tea.


    Terrorist incidents across the country are on the rise after a ceasefire pact with the government ended in November.


    Defense Minister Khwaja Asif had said on Monday that the recent spate of attacks were being staged by Pakistani Taliban hiding in Afghanistan. He asked the Taliban administration in the neighboring country to stop the attacks emanating from their soil.

  • National Security Council meeting tomorrow as terrorism on rise

    National Security Council meeting tomorrow as terrorism on rise

    The National Security Council (NSC) is set to hold a meeting on Friday (tomorrow) as terrorist activities in Pakistan continue to rise.

    The council will discuss a strategy to combat the new wave of terrorism in the country along with reviewing the situation at the Pak-Afghan border.

    The country’s federal ministers, military brass, and representatives from the security apparatus will attend the meeting, chaired by the head of government—Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif.

    Pakistan is facing a resurgence of terrorism since the militant Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) called off its ceasefire with the government in late November.

    Currently, security is on high alert in Islamabad after a foiled suicide bomber blew himself up while threats have also hit Karachi, Hyderabad, and Sukkur.