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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Foreign Office on Thursday summoned Afghanistan&rsquo;s deputy head of mission and lodged a strong protest over a terrorist attack in Bajaur that resulted in the martyrdom of 11 Pakistani soldiers. It said the attack was carried out by Fitna al-Khawarij, referring to the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a terrorist group that operates from Afghan territory with its leadership based there. According to the Foreign Office, the government condemned &ldquo;in strongest possible terms&rdquo; the vehicle-borne suicide bombing followed by a fire assault on a military and law enforcement post in the district. He said Pakistan has received repeated assurances from the Afghan Taliban regime but has not seen concrete action. Andrabi said Pakistan called on the Afghan Taliban regime to take immediate and verifiable steps against all militant groups operating from its territory, including their leadership. He stated that Pakistan informed the Afghan Taliban regime that it reserves the right to act against members of the Fitna al-Khawarij group and their affiliates wherever they are located to protect its soldiers, civilians, and territorial boundaries. Separately, while speaking to the media, the foreign office said that the country&rsquo;s patience was &ldquo;obviously not unlimited&rdquo; when it came to Afghanistan&rsquo;s actions, adding that the country reserved the right &ldquo;of any action in our right to self-defense.&rdquo; Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said that there was &ldquo;no positive response from Afghanistan to Pakistan&#39;s very legitimate demands that Afghan territory should not be used for terrorism inside Pakistan.&rdquo; &ldquo;So as long as this demand is not met, while exercising patience, all options would obviously remain on table,&rdquo; adding that &ldquo;we cannot let our people to be killed mercilessly.&rdquo;

The photograph shows the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Islamabad, Pakistan. (File Photo: PTV)

Foreign Affairs

Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said officials told the Afghan Taliban representative that the attack was carried out by Fitna al-Khawarij, referring to the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a terrorist group that operates from Afghan territory with its leadership based there.

Pakistan delivers strong demarche to Afghan diplomat after Bajaur terrorist attack 

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday asserted that terrorism would not be allowed to defeat Pakistan, stressing that the nation would continue its fight until all terrorist elements are eliminated, state-run APP reported.&nbsp;Addressing participants from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) at a national workshop in Islamabad, the prime minister said Pakistan&rsquo;s progress depends on the development of all four provinces. He noted that KP, a strategically important province, has made immense sacrifices in the war against terrorism and has been provided Rs800 billion over the past 15 years to strengthen&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/counterterrorism-misplaced-global-assumptions-and-outdated-narratives" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px; color: rgb(0, 115, 230);" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="fr-green">counterterrorism efforts</a>.&nbsp;PM Sharif criticized the spread of lies and propaganda, particularly on social media, saying such campaigns poison the minds of youth and undermine the sacrifices of the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/suicide-attack-reported-outside-district-court-in-pakistans-capital-city-security-sources" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px; color: rgb(0, 115, 230);" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="fr-green">country&rsquo;s martyrs</a>. He warned that attempts to glorify or justify terrorist narratives amount to echoing the voices of Pakistan&rsquo;s enemies.&nbsp;Highlighting KP&rsquo;s frontline role in the fight against militancy, the prime minister recalled that millions of Afghan refugees were hosted by Pakistan, particularly KP, during the Afghan war. While this was a humanitarian duty, he said the aftermath included the spread of weapons and terrorism, claiming thousands of innocent lives across the country.&nbsp;The prime minister said that by 2018, terrorism had been largely eradicated due to the sacrifices of more than 100,000 soldiers, law enforcement personnel, and civilians, following a national consensus to make no distinction between &ldquo;good&rdquo; and &ldquo;bad&rdquo; Taliban. However, he added that serious mistakes later allowed militants to regroup, damaging peace and economic progress.&nbsp;PM Sharif said Punjab had voluntarily given up part of its NFC share to support KP and Balochistan. He reiterated that the federal government remains committed to equitable development, noting that Pakistan can only move forward if all provinces grow together.&nbsp;He also outlined government initiatives aimed at economic stability, youth employment, education, and agricultural development, including scholarship programs and overseas training for agricultural graduates.&nbsp;On foreign relations, the prime minister said Pakistan desires peaceful ties with Afghanistan but will not tolerate terrorism emanating from Afghan soil. He emphasized that decisive action had been taken when dialogue failed, adding that it is now up to the Afghan interim government to choose peaceful coexistence.&nbsp;The session was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Attaullah Tarar, along with senior officials.

Politics

Allocates Rs800 billion allocated to the security of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

PM Sharif says terrorism will not defeat Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Friday said the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is the state&rsquo;s enemy and vowed to eliminate the terrorist outfit. During a press conference in Islamabad, the information minister said that the state would act against the banned group, citing confidence in the armed forces, security agencies, and youth. &quot;As the minister for information, I state clearly: The TTP is Pakistan&rsquo;s enemy. Until our last breath, and until the last drop of blood has been shed, we will eliminate it. I am saying this with absolute resolve: We will eliminate it.&quot; He said the strength of the state came from faith and trust in the armed forces and security agencies, saying personnel leave their homes daily without certainty of return. He referred to families who send their children to fight, accepting the possibility of&nbsp;martyrdom. &ldquo;We stand by them, and we will prevail,&rdquo; he said. Economic revival Tarar also spoke about the economy. He said Pakistan had moved from the threat of default back into the ranks of emerging economies. &ldquo;We have successfully transitioned from the threat of default back into the ranks of emerging economies,&rdquo; he said. He said the stock exchange was breaking records every day. He attributed the performance to confidence among the business community, traders, and industrialists. &ldquo;Our stock exchange is breaking records every single day,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The business community, merchants, and industries trust the government&rsquo;s reforms and policies.&rdquo; The information minister said investors recognized that deep structural reforms were underway. He said that prime minister Shehbaz Sharif had taken difficult decisions for the country. &ldquo;They know the prime minister took difficult steps for the betterment of the country,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Those actions are bearing fruit now.&rdquo; Tarar said that the economic turnaround involved all government departments, for which he credited Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar. &ldquo;They are the architects behind this ongoing economic revival,&rdquo; he said. Citing recent figures, the information minister&nbsp;said foreign remittances reached $3.6 billion in December. He said that marked a &quot;17% increase year-on-year&quot; and a &quot;13% rise month-on-month.&quot; &ldquo;I want to thank our overseas Pakistanis,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They are not only sending money home, but they are also breaking records.&rdquo; He said the government was working on foreign direct investment and that&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s trade with other countries was increasing. &ldquo;Wherever the prime minister goes, he promotes Pakistan&rsquo;s exports,&rdquo; Tarar said, citing Malaysia&rsquo;s increased quota for Pakistani rice and halal meat. He said trade discussions were prioritized during official visits to Pakistan. The minister mentioned the government&#39;s achievements, citing defense and economic frameworks with Saudi Arabia. He referred to agreements with Malaysia and partnerships with the United Arab Emirates. He also mentioned Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar being warmly received by China&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Wang Yi. &ldquo;With the launch of CPEC 2.0, all these economic frameworks are coming to Pakistan,&rdquo; he said. Tarar stated that the international community was viewing Pakistan with seriousness. He attributed that to the political leadership of PM Sharif and the military leadership of Field Marshal Munir. &ldquo;Because we have strong leadership, the world is taking Pakistan seriously,&quot;&nbsp;he said. He said investment was coming into the country and that an economic revival was underway.

Security

Attaullah Tarar, while citing support for the armed forces and security agencies, said that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan is Pakistan’s enemy and the state will take action against it.

'TTP is our enemy, we will eliminate it': Pakistan's information minister

Muhammad Usman Amin

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has increased its police budget by 408% over the last 12 years, prioritizing security spending above all other provincial departments to combat rising security challenges.&nbsp;&nbsp;According to official documents obtained from the Central Police Office (CPO), the total funding provided to the police force over the last decade has reached Rs824.3 billion.&nbsp;This increase is significant considering the uptick in terror attacks in 2025, which was the deadliest year for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in more than a decade. To keep pace with the scale and pace of terrorism, these funds are being used to empower the police force with additional personnel, state-of-the-art equipment, and training.&nbsp;For the current fiscal year (2025-26), the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police budget has been set at over Rs157.57 billion, marking a 26.6% increase from the previous year. This growth rate significantly outpaces other sectors, such as health (19.2%) and education (11%).&nbsp;A total of Rs126.27 billion (a 25% increase) is dedicated to personnel salaries. A total of Rs25.57 billion (a 35% increase) has been earmarked for operational costs and equipment.&nbsp;Beyond personnel costs, the provincial government is aggressively enhancing the force&#39;s tactical capabilities. The CPO confirmed that non-salary funds are being utilized to transform the police into a high-tech fighting force.&nbsp;Key procurements and ongoing upgrades include investments in advanced equipment like anti-drone systems, night-vision guns, and armored command vehicles. Twenty bulletproof cars have already been delivered to the force.&nbsp; Over 2,000 Kalashnikov rifles, along with specialized sniper rifles, have been provided to enhance field capacity.&nbsp;The scale of this financial shift is clearer than in fiscal year 2014-15, when the total police budget was a mere 29.9 billion rupees. Over the years, the &quot;Non-Salary&quot; budget, essential for weapons and fuel, has grown from Rs3.61 billion in 2014 to over Rs25 billion today, reflecting a shift toward modernization and upgradation.&nbsp;The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government maintains that these funds are essential to enhancing police capacity and ensuring the province&#39;s safety amid evolving security threats.

The increase, spread over 12 years, is significant considering the uptick in terror attacks in 2025, which was the deadliest year for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in more than a decade.

Articles tagged with "terrorism in Pakistan"

Pakistan delivers strong demarche to Afghan diplomat after Bajaur terrorist attack

PM Sharif says terrorism will not defeat Pakistan

'TTP is our enemy, we will eliminate it': Pakistan's information minister

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police budget surges by record 408% to over Rs150 billion

Pakistan delivers strong demarche to Afghan diplomat after Bajaur terrorist attack