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• Forces shell militant hideouts in Lower Dir; police kill ‘commander’ in Lakki
• Five Pesco employees ‘kidnapped by armed men’ in Bannu
QUETTA/LOWER DIR: Four terrorists were gunned down in Balochistan’s Mastung district during an operation on Friday, according to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.
The military’s media wing said the forces effectively engaged the terrorists’ location and killed “four Indian-sponsored terrorists” after a heavy exchange of fire.
The statement identified the militants as being affiliated with ‘Fitnaul Hindustan’ — the term used by the state to refer to Baloch separatist outfits.
“Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,” the ISPR said.
Lower Dir action
Separately, the security forces used gunship helicopters to target the militant hideouts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Gatki Sowara Ghundai area, bordering Maidan and Samarbagh, a day after seven Frontier Corps troops were martyred in Lower Dir in a gun battle with militants.
A fierce gun battle between militants and security forces in Sar Banda, Maidan, had continued on Thursday for several hours. Sources said seven FC personnel were martyred and 15 others sustained injuries in the exchange of fire.
Residents said the action came amid reports of a growing presence of militants in the region and that the operation lasted more than two hours and allegedly inflicted heavy casualties and material losses on terrorists.
There were unverified reports about the damage. The forces used loudspeakers in mosques in the Upper Maidan area to warn residents against supporting militants to avoid legal repercussions. However, there was no official word from ISPR on the matter till Friday evening.
On the other hand, the funeral prayers for the slain FC men were offered at the 184 Wing FC headquarters in Balambat.
Later, a jirga was convened with local elders, in which the community leaders of Lower Dir said the people stood in complete solidarity with the armed forces and would make every sacrifice necessary for the restoration of peace and elimination of terrorism.
Prayers were also offered for the elevation of the martyrs’ ranks, while solidarity was expressed with the bereaved families. The provincial government also assured the affected families of its support in their hour of grief.
TTP commander
Meanwhile, police in Lakki Marwat claimed to have killed a “terrorist commander” in Wanda Pinjima area of the district. A police official identified the slain terrorist as Sher Aslam, a resident of Kaichi Kamar, who was affiliated with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP).
“After the operation, the terrorists had managed to take away his body with them,” he said, adding that police were constantly monitoring the movement of the terrorists and they had successfully traced the place where they had buried their accomplice.
Pesco employees abducted
Separately, armed men in Bannu allegedly kidnapped five employees of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company in the Peer Dilkhel area of the district on Friday.
Police and Pesco officials confirmed the incident and said that five employees of Pesco Rural-I Bannu subdivision went to the area in a pick-up truck to repair a fault in the Bakkakhel power feeder. Subsequently, the mobile phones were switched off and the vehicle was found abandoned.
Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2025
