Pakistani Military Operation In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Kills 8 Civilians

Illustration of the Pakistani Army (ANTARA)

The Pakistani troops killed at least 11 militants during military operations while eight civilians, including former senators, also lost their lives in a terror attack in July.

According to the Pakistani military, their forces killed 10 militants, including two of the most wanted commanders, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), which borders Afghanistan, in the past four days while one of the militant commanders was killed in the Gilgit Baltistan region on Thursday.

Pakistan's military stepped up intelligence-based operations at KP following the latest attacks on soldiers in the districts of Waziristan, Khyber, and Kurram.

Quoted by ANTARA, Sunday, July 7, a police van was hit by an artificial bomb (IED) in the Jallala area, Mardan district, which killed three people and injured 10 others.

Terror attacks have escalated in the KP border region after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharid approved and announced a restarted'' national counter-terrorism campaign last month to eradicate extremism and terrorism from the country, known as Azm-e-Isthhankam or determined to last long.

However, the announcement sparked opposition and criticism from political parties and KP citizens, most of whom opposed new military operations in the region.

The government plans to hold a conference with all parties by the end of this month to discuss the military operation.

On Friday, the Pakistani army made a statement, after a Conference of Corps Commanders led by military commander General Asim Munir, rejected an unwarranted criticism' and said Azm-e-Istehkam aims to dismantle terrorism relations and the country's illegal spectrum to maintain stability.

Last month there were 60 deaths, including 33 security forces and 26 civilians, in 69 terror attacks, according to a recent report issued by a think tank based in Islamabad, Pakistan's Institute of Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).

PICSS recorded that in the first six months of this year, Pakistan witnessed 478 militant attacks from January to June with 474 deaths and 539 injuries.