PESHAWAR / SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: Three Pak­is­tan Army soldiers were mar­tyred in the Arawali area of Khyber Pakhtun­khwa’s Kurram district on Thursday in a gunfight with militants, the military’s media wing said in a statement.

Separately, two people were killed in South Wazir­istan district when security forces opened fire at a car when its driver failed to stop at a checkpoint.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) identified the martyred soldiers as Su­b­edar Shuja Muhammad, 43, who belonged to Khair­pur; Naik Muhammad Ram­zan, 32, who hailed from Khuzdar; and Sepoy Abdul Rehman, 30, a resident of Sukkur.

It said that “an exchange of fire took place between terrorists and security forces in the general area of Arawali, Kurram district. Our troops fought bravely and effectively engaged the terrorists’ location”.

“During an intense exchange of fire, two terrorists were killed. Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorists … [who] remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces,” it said.

The forces were combing the area for more militants, the ISPR said, adding that the army was determined to “eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve”.

Two killed in South Waziristan

Two people were killed and another was injured in the South Waziristan district when security forces opened fire at a car with tinted glasses when its driver failed to stop at a checkpoint despite officers signalling it to do so, the police said.

The incident took place near the Inzar China area of Shakai tehsil, some 30km from Wana, the largest town of South Waziristan.

The two occupants died on the spot and were identified as Ehsanullah and Gulzad, residents of Datta Khel town of North Waziristan tribal district. The injured was identified as Bakhtullah, a resident of South Waziristan, and was shifted to a nearby health facility.

“The case and the connections [of the three occupants with militants] are being investigated since we suspect that one of the two persons killed in the firing incident owned a house in Afghanistan,” SP Investigation Fazal Subhan told Dawn.

According to residents, security forces and the locals at a recent jirga had agreed upon launching a campaign against tinted glasses and voluntarily abandoning their use.

They said banners were also displayed against tinted glasses at different checkpoints. The campaign was launched to stop targeted killings since vehicles with tinted glasses were mostly involved in such incidents.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2022