President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif firmly condemned the suicide attack on the security forces in northern Waziristan on Saturday, calling it a cowardly sponsored by external forces aimed at destabilizing the country.
In their separate statements, the President and the Prime Minister paid tribute to the 13 soldiers martyred during the operation and praised the security forces to eliminate 14 terrorists in the exchange of shooting which followed while offering prayers for the elevation of the rows of martyrs and expressed sympathies with families in disagreement.
The two leaders also wanted a rapid recovery for the three civilians – including two children and a woman – who were injured in the attack.
Learn more: 13 troops martyred in suicide attack on a military convoy in northern Waziristan
President Zardari said the Pakistani nation and its armed forces were determined to uproot terrorism, in particular the “Indian” networks operating in the region.
He stressed that the martyrs’ sacrifices would never be forgotten and that national resilience would prevail over all attempts to destabilize the country.
Prime Minister Sharif in his statement said that the nation had welcomed martyred staff and united in its determination to eliminate terrorism in all its forms. He reiterated that such loose acts would not shake Pakistan’s commitment to peace and security.
The coordinated attack occurred early Saturday morning in the village of Dandi Dir Dir Dawani of Mir Ali Tehsil, where a suicide bomber has targeted a military convoy.
According to sources, the incident took place at 7:45 am during the hours of curfew imposed due to troop movements.
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Inter-service public relations, in a statement, confirmed the loss of 13 soldiers and three civilians in the suicide attack. The army media wing said that the bomber’s vehicle had been intercepted by the main group in the convoy, but the attackers managed to explode the explosives, which led to significant victims.
After the explosion, a disinfection operation was launched in the region. In a separate declaration, the ISPR said that 14 terrorists had been killed in the exchange of fire that followed. The operation was still underway to eliminate the area of any remaining threat, he added.
A relatively less known militant outfit, Aswadul Harb, claimed the responsibility of the attack and identified the suicide bomber as a man named Abdullah. The group would be linked to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur network, an aligned faction on the Pakistan of Tehreek-E-Taliban (TTP) prohibited, which operated from shelters in eastern Afghanistan.
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Marshal Army, Marshal Syed Asim Munnir, paid tribute to the soldiers who have fallen and swore to unmask what he called the “real author of terrorism in the region”.
He praised the courage and professionalism of the troops involved in the operation, declaring that the armed forces “continue to confront and neutralize the Fitna al-Khawarij sponsored by India with exemplary value”.
“The inhabitants of Pakistan are united in their determination to eradicate terrorism in all its forms and demonstrations until the threat is decisively eliminated from the country,” said the army’s chief.
