16 soldiers killed in Pakistan’s restive South Waziristan

Islamabad: As many as 16 Pakistani soldiers were killed and another eight critically injured after their security post came under attack, the heaviest in the last few months, in the Lita Sar area of upper district of South Waziristan in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, early Saturday.

In a separate incident, two loud explosions were heard in Balochistan’s Kharan on Friday, where the Frontier Corps South had found at least 30 kilogrammes of explosives at an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) factory.

The attacks on security forces come at a time when a major decision to de-weaponize KP’s Kurram district has been taken by Pakistan’s Apex Committee where deadly sectarian clashes have claimed over 150 lives.

The district has been suffering due to unavailability of basic necessities, including food, water, fuel and medicines for over 70 days, resulting in the death of at least 29 children who lost their lives due to lack of medicines.

While a grand jirga in KP’s Kohat city has been trying to bring all parties and local tribal elders to a mutually-agreed peace deal for weeks, Pakistan’s Apex Committee, the country’s highest body for decision-making, has decided to confiscate all the arms and ammunition from the Kurram district till February 1, 2025.

Both parties representing opposing sects have to submit their weapons and ammunition voluntarily within 15 days and sign an agreement, to which the government will be a guarantor.

It has been decided that all bunkers will be demolished by February 1 while Frontier Corps and the police will jointly provide security to the military convoys.

Experts believe that the apex committee decision might not be an easy proposal for the local tribes to agree on as the Kurram district is heavily armed with weapons, which sectarian groups claim is used to ensure the security of their tribes.

IANS