ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military warned on Sunday it would carry out “retribution operations” hours after a militant attack at a paramilitary Rangers facility in Karachi killed three soldiers, injured four and also resulted in the killing of three militants.
The Pakistani military’s media wing said that militants belonging to the proscribed group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar attacked the main gate of a camp operated by the paramilitary Rangers force in Karachi on Saturday night. A senior police official told Arab News earlier that the camp is located in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar neighborhood.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) or the military’s media wing said the militants attempted to breach the facility after the blast. However, it said Rangers personnel killed three militants and captured one in an injured state, adding that he is an Afghan national.
“During fire exchange, three brave sons of soil rendered the ultimate sacrifice and embraced Shahadat in the line of duty, while 4 soldiers are injured,” the ISPR said.
“Pakistan shall undertake retribution operations against the perpetrators of this attack to avenge the Shahadat of its soldiers,” it added.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised Rangers personnel for thwarting the militants’ attack, according to a statement issued by his office.
“The nation stands shoulder-to-shoulder with its brave armed forces, the Rangers, and all law enforcement agencies,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) quoted Sharif as saying.
“Our struggle will continue with full determination and resolve until the scourge of terrorism is completely eliminated.”
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a militant faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has mostly remained active in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in recent years, claimed the attack. The group has targeted civilians, security personnel and government functionaries in the past.
Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of supporting militant outfits such as the TTP and others who carry out attacks against its law enforcers and civilians. The Afghan Taliban deny the allegations and urge Pakistan to resolve its security challenges by itself.
Pakistan has carried out airstrikes and military operations in Afghanistan this year against alleged militant hideouts and infrastructure in the country in response to militant attacks against its law enforcers. The move has triggered fierce clashes between the two sides, straining their relations.
Islamabad also accuses New Delhi of funding these militant groups that it says are based in Afghanistan, charges that India denies.
Pakistan has faced an uptick in militant attacks in its KP and southwestern Balochistan provinces bordering Afghanistan since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.
