Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday said that “three [people] have been martyred” during the ongoing operation against terrorists hiding inside the Cadet College in South Waziristan’s Wana district, adding that security forces have successfully rescued everyone from the building.
“There were around 550 students and nearly 40 teachers [inside the college]. By the grace of god, our soldiers saved everyone there,” Naqvi said while addressing the media in Islamabad.
Naqvi did not specify who was martyred during the operation.
“The terrorists had planned to hold them (cadets) hostage there, but their plan could not materialise.
“However, the clearance of the area is underway and will be completed in a bit,” the minister added.
Security forces had killed two terrorists yesterday after attackers rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the college’s main gate, causing it to collapse and damaging an adjacent structure.
In his media talk, Naqvi said, “We are very clear in that that Afghanistan is directly involved in the entire attack.
Noting that the terrorists had been identified as Afghan, the interior minister said the attackers’ “communication with their people in Afghanistan also continued the entire night”.
The minister further said, “I will request my brothers in KP that please do not defame yourselves. We must stand with our country, with our forces who are clearing these terrorists.
“They (terrorists) are trying to defame you; they are trying to take you on board based on their ties, but Pakistan should be the priority for us. Any other country comes later,” he added.
Referring to multiple visits carried out by top Pakistani leadership to Afghanistan, Naqvi said: “The foreign minister, deputy prime minister, defence minister — we all have gone numerous times and presented them with evidence and details on how they (terrorists) are being trained in Afghanistan, how they plan and then come here to carry out attacks.”
He asserted, “We are very clear in this that Afghanistan must stop them under all circumstances. In case of not stopping them, we will have no other option but to take stock of the terrorists who are attacking our country.”
3 terrorists hiding inside a college building
Earlier today, security sources said that a clearance operation to eliminate three terrorists was underway at the educational facility.
“An operation was underway to eliminate three khwarij present inside the Cadet College,” security sources said in a statement, adding that it was being reported that all of them hailed from Afghanistan.
Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), while khwarij refers to terrorists associated with it.
The security operation will continue till the eradication of the last terrorist, security sources asserted.
They added that the terrorists were hidden in a building that was located far away from the cadets’ residence. They asserted that the clearance operation was being carried out with great expertise to ensure that the cadets’ lives remained safe and they were not harmed.
The security source said the terrorists were “continuously taking directives from Afghanistan on the telephone”.
Meanwhile, state-run PTV reported that at the time of the attack, approximately 650 individuals, including 525 cadets, were present. “Security forces have so far safely rescued 115 individuals,” PTV reported, citing security sources.
“The three Afghan khwarij present in the Cadet College have been confined to a specific building of the college, and security forces have the area surrounded,” the report added. “The building where the Afghan khwarij are located is situated at a considerable distance from the cadets’ residential buildings. So far, all cadets are safe.”
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had said yesterday that the terrorists inside the college were in contact with their handlers in Afghanistan and “are getting instructions“.
“This blatant act of barbarism orchestrated by khwarij from Afghanistan is in contrast to assertions made by the Afghan Taliban Regime claiming non-presence of these terrorist groups on their soil,“ the ISPR had said.
Hailing yesterday’s response by the military, a security source noted, “The Pakistan Army’s soldiers sent two khwarij to hell by taking immediate and courageous action.”
“Terrorists attacking innocent tribal children have no connection with Islam or the prosperity of Pakistan’s people,” they asserted.
It had further said, “These khwarij belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Khwarij have once again tried to repeat the barbaric act of terrorism carried out by them in Army Public School Peshawar in 2014.“
On Dec 16, 2014, Pakistan lived through one of its most horrific chapters. The attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar and the operation to clear out the terrorists unfolded in less than 10 hours, during which 147 people, including 132 schoolchildren, were martyred.
The military maintained that the latest attack aimed to instil fear among the youth of the tribal areas, “who are acquiring quality education at their doorstep to excel in life and achieve a better future for not only themselves and their families but also for their communities“.
Earlier on Monday, security forces killed 20 terrorists in two separate intelligence-based operations (IBO) in KP — eight in North Waziristan and 12 in the Dara Adam Khel district. Another four were eliminated in Balochistan’s Kalat.
Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in the past year, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, after TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022 and vowed to attack security forces, police, and law enforcement agencies’ personnel.
