KP IG says NATO weapons used in southern districts cannot be obtained without help from Afghan government
Martyred elite force officer Gulfam who was killed by terrorists during a joint operation in Swat.
PESHAWAR:
An Elite Force constable was martyred, while five terrorists were killed in a joint operation of police and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in Matta area of Swat district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Inspector General (IG) of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police Zulfiqar Hameed said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference in Peshawar, IG Hameed said that the police had received advance intelligence regarding the movement of terrorists to the region from Afghanistan.
“There are reports of terrorists arriving from Afghanistan,” Hameed said, adding that Afghan terrorists also accompany terrorist groups entering these areas.
Referring to the recent suicide attack in Tank, the police chief said that between 1,200 and 1,400 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack.
On July 23, at least 15 security forces and a government official were killed after terrorists belonging to the “Indian-sponsored group” Fitna al Khwarij“attacked a joint police check post in Tank district of KP.
Hameed said all four terrorists killed in the tank attack were Afghan nationals, adding that “according to the investigation conducted so far, none of the four has been established to be Pakistani.”
The IG also drew parallels between the attack on a school in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank’s suicide attack, saying “the modus operandi of the two attacks was not different.”
He added that weapons and technology left by NATO are being used in the southern districts, adding that “terrorists cannot get all this without the help of the Afghan government.”
Earlier, security sources said that during the Swat operation, four terrorists took refuge in a house and used the family members as human shields, complicating security forces’ efforts to clear the area. “The use of civilians as human shields is clear proof of the cowardice and failure of the terrorists,” the sources said.
Security sources further said that the forces managed to take control of a strategically important position after confronting the terrorists.
Fitna al-Khawarij ” is the term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
According to the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP)constable Gulfam Khan Bangash, a resident of Fateh Khan Khel area of Kohat district, was part of an elite force unit carrying out an operation against the terrorists when he was fatally injured in an exchange of fire.
After the clashes, security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to trace the terrorists who had fled the scene.
Authorities said arrangements were being made to transport Bangash’s body to his native village of Kohat, where he would be laid to rest with full official honors.
The recent incidents in KP reflect the persistent security challenges facing the region.
Read: 12 soldiers among 15 martyred in terror attack on security checkpoint in KP tank
On July 13, two policemen were killed and two others injured when a remote-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) hit a police armored personnel carrier during a routine patrol on the Wana-Jandola road in Tank district of KP.
On July 3, unidentified attackers carried out two separate acts of sabotage in Bannu district, targeting a government girls’ college and a key bridge.
Explosives placed inside Mama Khel Government Girls’ College damaged parts of the building, cracked classroom walls and shattered windows and doors.
In another incident in Bashki area of Jani Khel, terrorists placed a drum filled with explosives under a major bridge, apparently attempting to disrupt transport links. Security forces and the bomb disposal unit defused the device before it could cause damage.
On June 20, at least seven people were killed when a passenger vehicle was targeted in an IED attack in the area.
UN Security Council confirms increase in TTP attacks from Afghanistan
Terrorism has increased significantly in Pakistan, especially in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, in recent days. The rise in terrorist activities has led to growing concerns about the security situation in these regions. In response, security forces have carried out intensive operations to counter the threat, targeting terrorist groups.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC), in a report released in February, also drew attention to a series of attacks by the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) against Pakistani security forces and projects linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Learn more: Three more terrorists killed in ongoing Shaban operation, security sources say
“On September 16, 2025, the BLA ambushed a Pakistani military convoy patrolling the corridor, killing 32 soldiers. Even though Pakistan-led counterterrorism operations limited the BLA’s operational space, it remained active.”
The report adds that some member states reported that the BLA collaborated with the TTP and ISIL-K through training camps and shared resources, coordinating attacks and meetings between commanders. Some Member States considered that there was no association or growing links between the BLA and Al-Qaeda or ISIL.
He further pointed out that various groups in Afghanistan had acquired modern weapons and equipment through cross-border smuggling and black market. “The TTP used advanced assault rifles, night vision devices, thermal imaging devices, sniper systems and drone attack systems. Most of these were provided by the de facto authorities in conjunction with weapons permits and travel documents,” it said.
In August 2025, the 1988 UN Taliban Sanctions Committee Monitoring Team Annual Report stated that the banned terrorist groups – BLA, including its Majeed Brigade, and TTP had “close coordination”.
The UNSC report said “some BLA attacks showed a high degree of complexity and brutality,” citing the hijacking of the Jaffar Express in Balochistan on March 11, 2025, which killed 31 people, including 21 hostages.
